Define Me
by x.BadWolfRose.x
Summary: -"Jake, what was it like when you imprinted?" I saw the mixture of thoughts and pictures that whizzed around Jacob’s head "It's like she’s the only thing that matters. Every thing you do, every decision you make, it’s all for her. She defines you Seth."
1. Chapter One: Krista

**Hey. So this is my first stab at a Twilight Fic. It's set sometime after Breaking Dawn (around two years) but the dates are a bit hazy. It doesn't really matter I don't think. I always wanted Seth to imprint on someone nice so, here goes!**

**Disclaimer: It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer, not me.**

* * *

_Krista Hughes:_

I hate Mondays. I mean, you've just had the whole weekend to relax, have fun, chill out then… WHAM. Early morning start for a day packed with lessons. And it's not like you can look forward to much because next weekend is a week away. That's why I love Friday: because the next day is the weekend. But Mondays? No, they truly suck. There's nothing worse than waking up on a Monday morning and thinking: _Great. I have to do this for another five days until I get my lie-in. Fabulous. _

This Monday was especially bad though: the first day at La Push High School. I'd just transferred since my parents got divorced. Mum and Dad had decided to settle their differences over the summer. Unfortunately, by settle they meant separate; resulting in Dad staying in the UK, and Mum moving half way across the world: to the USA.

You would've thought I'd been excited, but the truth was, leaving the UK, leaving all my friends, my home, my life and my Dad… well, it wasn't such a welcome thing. In fact, I hated the idea. Mum and I argued all the time about it. The number of times I'd gone to bed, listening to her crying in the next room, and I hated myself for it. I'm not a bad kid really, a tad rebellious maybe, but not bad. I don't _like _upsetting my mother, but I didn't understand how she _couldn't_ get that I was upset about the whole thing. Not about my parents' divorce. Hey, people divorce the whole time. But moving to the other side of the universe? That, I did NOT like.

So anyway: Monday morning, La Push High School, feeling like crap.

Mum tried to cheer me up: pushing past unopened boxes to bring me breakfast in bed. Since we'd moved here I refused to unpack. Unpacking meant that this was permanent. Unpacking meant that we were staying for good, something I just didn't want to accept. I know it's childish, but a tiny part of me hoped that maybe… maybe my parents would forgive and forget and we'd move back. I knew it wouldn't happen, but still I left all the boxes strewn round the room, unopened. The only stuff that had made the journey from boxes to cupboards were my clothes.

"Kiki, baby. I brought you juice." Her simpering voice annoyed me. So what that she had to bring me back to her 'birthplace'? It just made her cringy American accent even more annoying than it had been back in the UK.

"Go away!" I mumbled, pulling my duvet covers over my head. "Leave me alone!"

My mother laughed, placing the tray of juice and hot toast on a cardboard box by my bed, serving as a bedside table. "Sweetheart, you've got half an hour before school, so up you get."

"I'm not going!" I groaned, pulling my covers tighter around me.

"Come on Kiki. I'll be up in ten minutes to check on you." She patted the bump in the covers where I guessed she thought my head was, then left the room, leaving the door open.

I grimaced. I was awake now. See, I've inhabited this annoying trait from my father: once I'm awake, I don't fall back to sleep. With an irritated sigh, I pulled myself upright, blinking at the sunlight glaring at me through curtain-less windows. The smell of marmite toast reached my nose and I breathed in, savouring the smell. If I have one weakness: it's marmite.

You don't get it in the states, much to my annoyance. The one thing, above all else that I missed when I got here was Marmite. It's literally heaven in a jar. After several tearful phone calls to my father, a parcel arrived at the house, completely full of brown jars of the heavenly food. On toast… it's the best.

I took a mouthful. Damn my mother, she knew my weakness. Several bites later, I was wide-awake and in front of my wardrobe.

"Twenty minutes, Kiki!" Came the call from downstairs. I didn't bother replying. I looked into my cupboards. What the hell was I going to wear?

Back in the UK, going to a private school meant disgusting school uniform. You know: chequered skirts, white shirts, blazers and ties. But now, it was free choice. I considered wearing something small and revealing, just for a laugh. But then I remembered that it was my first ever, EVER day and a small lump appeared in my throat.

Ugh! I was going to be the new girl: the one that everyone stared at like they were some kind of freak. I decided, that the only way I was going to be comfortable was just to be myself. So I pulled on a pair of faded jeans, a thick, navy hooded jumper and a pair of UGG boots. Sorted.

Mum looked as if she was going to have a heart attack when I came down the tiny staircase into the kitchen.

"Kiki! Honey!" She crooned. "You're ready!"

"Yeah, yeah." I shrugged, placing the empty tray on top of a pile of papers on the kitchen table. "Look, I'm just going to head off. I know I'm early but…meh" I shrugged, trailing off.

Mum smiled eerily at me. "Sure you don't want to drive you hon?"

"Nah. I'm good. Don't worry." I grabbed the keys to my van from the counter by the front door. The one good thing (and I mean _one)_ about moving to the US, was that I got to drive. In the UK, you can start learning from 17, but for some reason, here they're more relaxed. Literally the moment I arrived in the states, I booked myself into driving school, and spent every second of my time driving. I wrote off Mum's first car (drove into a ditch. Nice.) and she went ape. But then, after a few more weeks, during which I turned seventeen, I passed my test. As a present, mum bought me my very own VW campervan. I knew it was mainly a bribe, because she felt bad and because she knew I hated it here, but I loved it all the same. It's yellow. I like yellow.

"Bye mum." I said, pulling the door to behind me. Seconds later, mum had opened the door and run over to the front window of my van, just as I was placing the key in the ignition.

"Have fun Krista." She said, hey eyes welling with tears. "I know this isn't easy but… I love you. Have a nice time. I'm sure you'll love it."

I rolled my eyes at my pathetic mother, but leaned out the window to kiss her on the cheek. "Love you too mum." Then I turned the key and pulled off.

To be honest, living in Forks meant that I ought to have gone to Forks High School, but for some reason, I was drawn more to the school at La Push. I wanted Mum to move there in the first place, but by the time I'd looked round the area, she'd already bought a place in Forks. It meant that I had around a twenty-minute drive to get to school but, in my new van, I didn't care.

The school itself was pretty small. I drove the van into the parking provided, next to a grubby looking motorbike. I looked longingly at it for a second, before patting the wheel of my van and cooing to it. "Shh now, Vera, no need to get jealous. I'll always love you best."

Alright! I called my van Vera. No comment.

I heaved myself out of the driving seat and onto the wet tarmac, not realising how slippery it was and almost falling over in my struggle to pull my bag out after me. Suddenly, all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I felt like I was being watched. Turning my head, I saw no one around, but the feeling didn't go away. I was sure someone was staring at me, and it made me blush deeply, without meaning to.

"oof!" My foot skidded in a puddle and a completely lost my balance. Feeling the floor zooming towards me I threw out a hand to try and grab something, anything, to break my fall. Suddenly, I felt two enormous, bulky arms grab hold of my waist and pull me upright. Panicking, I grabbed the arms with my own, freezing hands and pulled them towards me in a desperate attempt to stay upright. I heard a deep throaty chuckle as I clung desperately to the stranger. Finally, finding my feet, I let go and pulled back, out of the person's grip, grabbing the strap of my bag and pulling it out of my van, trying to hide my face from my rescuer seeing as it was so bloody red. Honestly, the moment I get even the tiniest bit embarrassed, I blush like a bloody strawberry.

Staring at my feet, I mumbled a quick thanks, not daring to look up lest the stranger be alarmed by my bright red cheeks. Then I heard that same, deep chuckle. I looked up and gasped.

Standing there, all cool and sophisticated, was possibly the biggest boy I had ever seen. He was tall, with a dark buzz cut and the most defined muscles I had ever come across on a real boy. And to top it all off, he was topless. I stood there with my mouth open, gawping like a complete pillock.

"Hey." The guy said, extending a hand. "Quil." I shook my head disbelievingly.

"Are those real?" I pointed at his chest. He laughed again.

"Most people just say hello back." He pointed out, withdrawing his hand. I shrugged, regaining some of my lost composure.

"Most people don't turn up to school topless."

He chuckled again. It was a nice sound: calming. "Touché." He shook out a white t-shirt he was holding in his other hand and pulled it over his head. "Better?" He asked, once dressed.

"Dunno. I quite liked the view before." I smiled cheekily. He grinned back. "Is there a reason for not being fully dressed on the first day of term?" I cocked my head on one side, hoisting my bag onto my shoulder.

It was the boy's turn to shrug. "Travel better without it." He winked. I shook my head, baffled.

"You're strange." I said simply.

He chuckled once more and I decided that I definitely liked the sound. "Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment." He looked towards the school building, then back at me. "You're new." He said, not posing it as a question.

"Well observed." My voice dripped with sarcasm, a bad habit of mine.

"British?" A question this time.

"Guilty." I nodded. He looked thoughtful.

"Krista Hughes." He said, and then added at my bewildered look. "You're in a couple of my classes."

"Kris." I corrected him, then frowned. "How do you know my name?"

"I got it in the summer mailing." He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "It says it all here."

I took the paper, scanning it. Sure enough, my name was on a couple of his set lists. The paper had been well and truly scribbled on however, in many different sets of handwriting:

* * *

**English Lit:**

Quil Ateara _Gayboy_ **is amazing**

Charlotte Twian

Seth Clearwater _needs a home. Mongrel._ **Get lost Embry!**

Emily Browning _dyke._

Tom Browning.

Harriet Walcott

Jonah Flute _who?_

Francis _Penis_ton _HAHA! penis_. **Mature Embry**

Jack Smith

Embry Call _IS THE HOTTEST THING ON FOUR LEGS_ **In your dreams Embry. **_No Quil, in yours. HA!_

Krista Hughes_ newbie._

Lucy Hall

Jacob Black Ugly **Go write on your own paper Embry!**

* * *

I had to stifle a laugh at some of the notes written, though I was a bit miffed at being called 'newbie' already. I hated prejudices.

"This Embry bloke seems… nice."

"Embry? Ha!" Quil lauhed. "He's alright. Immature as hell though. You'll meet him soon enough."

"Will I?"

"Well, yeah." Quil scratched his head. "Why not. He's mates with me and… well… I thought I could, like, show you round."

I could have hugged him, I honestly could. I had been so worried about meeting people and making new friends, I didn't even think for one second I'd meet someone on the first day that I actually got on with, or liked me. And Quil seemed… cool. A little strange perhaps, but I liked him. I resisted the urge to throw my arms around him and instead settled for giving him my best smile.

"Thanks Quil."

He looked a little taken aback. "It's nothing. Really. Just thought you could do with some showing round." He looked at my van. "Nice wheels."

I patted Vera's side affectionately. "A welcoming gift from Mum."

He laughed. "What's funny?" I asked, frowning.

"Your English accent." He admitted. "The way you say things. It'll take getting used to."

"Whatever, yank." I rolled my eyes. He laughed again. He obviously laughed a lot. Seriously, I don't usually make people laugh at all, let alone every minute like Quil was. Maybe my accent _was _funny. I made a mental note to tone down my RP in company. "We should probably get to classes."

Quil nodded, waiting for me to lock my car. "Right."

We walked over to the front doors and into the main entrance. A large woman sat behind the desk. She beamed at Quil as she saw him enter.

"Quil! How was your summer?" Her three chins wobbled as she spoke. I held back a snicker.

"Fine, thank you Mrs Peacock. This is Krista Hughes: new this semester."

I gave a little wave. "Kris." I corrected again. Quil grinned and rolled his eyes at me. Mrs Peacock handed me a piece of paper, not unlike the one Quil had shown me earlier.

"You have Biology first period dear. Quil will show you the way. Cute accent by the way."

I sighed and mumbled thanks before turning to walk down the corridor.

"Chris?" Muttered Quil. "Isn't that a boys name?"

"Spelt with a K, you pillock." I hissed back.

Quil laughed again. Did that boy find _everything _funny? "Pillock." He chuckled. "I haven't heard that one before. You're going to have to teach me your British lingo."

"I don't think you could handle it." I teased. "You could never master the" I mimicked the receptionist "_cute accent."_

Quil smiled. "I still think Kris is a boy's name."

"I still think Quil is something you find on a porcupine's back." I jibed back. Quil held his hands to his chest in mock pain.

"Owch! You got me, Hughes." He stopped as we came to a red door marked **Biology Lab 1.**

"Nice." I remarked. "Guess we're here." I put my hand forward to push open the door, only to find Quil blocking my path.

"One thing." He said, brow furrowed. "Before you meet my friends, I should probably warn you… Seth. He's a nice kid, and you'll like him, but he's a bit shy…" He trailed off, eyes looking at the floor, shiftily.

I frowned. "That's fine. It's not like I've ever met a shy boy before. I'm more worried about meeting this Embry bloke. I'm guessing he's the one that wrote 'Newbie' next to my name?"

Quil nodded absentmindedly, clearly not really listening. "The thing is with Seth…" He trailed off again, before laughing nervously. Nervously? Why was he suddenly nervous? "He might give you a funny look…"

I laughed, patting Quil on the shoulder like you would a three year old and looking him in the eye seriously. "I'm sure he's fine. Look, can we just get to class."

Quil sighed, seemingly defeated. "I guess." He stepped aside, pushing the door open with his bulky arm. "After you."

I rolled my eyes at him and stepped through the door. The class was pretty full but the teacher obviously hadn't arrived. I scanned the room, stepping back a little at the sight of three enormous boys sitting at the back of the class. They were just as big as Quil, if not bigger, and they were shoving and pushing each other playfully. I stared, not really sure how to react. Were all boys like this here: six foot four with bodies like olympic gods? I shook my head, not sure if it was real.

Suddenly, I got that feeling again: the same one as this morning. Someone was staring at me. I blushed bright red and looked at the three boys. There: on the end, the smallest of the three giants was staring at me. He was positively the most amazing boy I had _ever _seen: tall, muscular, but not creepily so like Quil or the one I supposed was Embry. His dark hair was long and floppy, and fell over his forehead in an attractive fringe, just above his dark eyes.

Eyes that were transfixed on me.

I had to look away.

"I'm guessing that's Seth?" I hissed at Quil. He scratched his head sheepishly.

"That's him alright."

I sighed. "I see what you mean about the staring." I commented, trying to sound cool and joking when really, my face felt on fire, I was blushing so deeply. Damn my bloody complexion! Why was he staring at me like he owned me or something? It was a mixture of complete shock and… and… desire?

I laughed at myself, causing Quil to look at me strangely. Of course it wasn't desire. Maybe I was freaky looking to him or something. Whatever it was, I found myself completely unsettled. I had half a mind to walk straight out of the lab and back to my van, but somehow the thought of leaving Seth made my stomach tighten. Oh God.

"Come and meet the gang." Quil eventually said, pushing me forward with one hand. I swallowed. Hello sex-gods.

The one I assumed was Embry grinned at me when I approached. "So this is her?" He said. Quil glared at him and Jacob dug him in the ribs with his elbow: two actions that didn't go unnoticed by me. Embry's grin widened. "The new girl."

Quil spoke before I could. "This is Krista Hughes."

"Kris, I corrected for the third time that day. Quil laughed.

"Yeah, sorry. Kris. With a K." He winked at me.

The tallest boy stood up, leaning across the desk to shake hands. "Jacob Black." He said. I took his hand. It was burning hot. As soon as I touched it, I pulled back, out of his grip, staring up at him with raised eyebrows. He grinned at me while Embry snickered from beside him. Obviously there was some inside joke I wasn't getting. I turned to the boy on Jacob's left.

"Embry?" I questioned, knowing that there was no one else it could be.

"Famous already!" Embry didn't offer to shake hands, thankfully. "Obviously Quil's told you all about me."

"I think the word immature came up." I said a little harshly. Jacob exploded with laughter as Embry scowled.

"You'll pay for that Quil." He glared. Quil merely laughed along with Jacob before steering me towards the third member of the group. He was still staring. Did he ever blink?

"Seth Clearwater." Quile said, nudging me forward. I half-smiled at the enormous boy, raising my hand to give him a little wave.

"Hey." I said, uncertainly.

"Hey." He mumbled back. Was it just me, or were the other three holding their breath?

Eventually the tension broke. Quil steered me into the seat next to Jacob as he shot Seth a withering look. As I passed, I distinctly heard Embry hiss "Good one Seth" and the prickling feeling on the back of my neck faded. Seth had stopped staring at me. Instead he was staring at the floor, looking downright miserable. I wanted to hit Embry round his big head for making Seth upset, but I didn't really know why.

"You like biology?" Jacob asked conversationally as I sat down between him and Quil.

"Not really." I admitted. "I'm an arts girl really."

"Art?" Jacob frowned. "You paint?"

I laughed. "No, arts! Like history, philosophy, English lit. That stuff."

Jacob nodded in understanding. "Gotcha." He said before looking over my head and locking eyes with Quil. I had the distinct impression that something was going on that I wasn't part of, but I guessed I'd have to get to know the gang better before they would confide in me.

"You don't hang out with girls much do you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jacob looked offended. "Course I do. My best friend's a girl."

"Then why are all the girls in this class gawping at me like I'm sort of freak?" I looked pointedly at two blonde girls giving me evils from the front row. Quil chuckled.

"It's coz they're jealous you're sitting with such gorgeous guys." Embry pushed his chair back, putting his enormous feet on the desk with a smug expression on his face.

Before I had time to argue, a shrill voice came from the front of the class. "Embry Call get your feet off the table this INSTANT!"

Quil, Jacob and I snickered behind our textbooks. Seth just sat there, staring at his desk. What was _wrong _with him? Maybe he was just chronically shy! But then, why would Quil and the rest of the gang bother hanging out with him? I made a mental note to make more of an effort to talk to him in the future.

The teacher's dulcet tones wafted over the class and I finally knew that the summer holidays were over. _Ah well. _I thought. _It could've been a worse start to the year._

***

Morning classes went pretty quickly after biology. Quil was in most of my lessons, but even if he wasn't, Jacob was. I found that Jacob and me got on pretty well. Maybe not as well as I did with Quil, but certainly better than with Embry. Embry was a nice guy, but the others were right, he was SO immature. Seth still hadn't spoken to me all morning, but luckily he was only in one other class with me besides Biology, and that was Eng Lit.

The canteen was smaller than at my old school, but then again, most things were here. It was _cute_ though (to quote Mrs Peacock this morning) and the food smelled pretty good.

"Hot or cold?" Quil asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"I beg your pardon?"

Quil laughed. "Food! Hot or cold bar?"

"Oh." I said, understanding as Jacob steered us towards the hot bar.

"Hot food!" He said decisively. "Obviously. Mmmm… fries."

I rolled my eyes, boys were all the same when it came to food. My eyes widened, however, as I saw the sheer amount of food that the boys piled onto their plates. No wonder they were so huge! They ate like bears! Hungry bears! I looked down at my jacket potato and cottage cheese and shook my head, a little bewildered. Quil caught my expression and winked at me. I merely laughed back, a little nervously.

We sat at a table in the far right corner, the boys with their enormous mounds of food and me with my small plateful and juice. Seth still wasn't talking to me, but every now and then, he would sneak a glance to look at me over his plate, then look down, concentrating on his food again. It was rather frustrating. I decided to try in conversation.

"So, Seth. You live in La Push?" I tried to keep my tone conversational, though my heart was pounding, for no apparent reason. There was a moment's silence before he answered.

"Yeah." His voice was melodical, not deep, not high pitched, but pure. It made me want to smile, though I thought I'd look like a bit of a freak if I just randomly smiled to myself. "With my mum and sister."

"You have a sister?" _Is she as bulky as you? _I silently added.

"Yeah." He said again. "Leah."

"Oh." I searched for another topic of conversation, seeing as he certainly wasn't going to. "You seventeen too?"

"Eighteen." He replied. The rest of the table sniggered as Seth glared at them. I frowned.

"What's funny?"

Quil looked from Jacob to Embry before answering me. "Nothing. Nothing at all. We're just being childish."

My frown grew more pronounced. "Is it because I'm the only seventeen year old here?" I asked angrily. I hated admitting that I was the youngest. I was always the youngest. My birthday was August 20th, making me permanently the baby of every year group.

Quil laughed harder, "No, no. Not at all. We really don't care about that. It's… call it an inside joke."

I groaned. "Ugh. Again? You guys have quite a few!"

Jacob scratched his head, pulling a face. "I guess we do. Don't worry, you'll be let in on them all soon enough." He winked at Seth, who stuck his tongue out back. It was the first normal thing I'd seen the boy do.

I sighed and nibbled at my food, not really hungry, but wishing I knew what they were talking about. From the way they were acting, it was as if Seth had some sort of claim over me. Not that I minded, but these La Push boys were rather strange compared to normal, English ones. Maybe all American boys were like this…

It wasn't until after my philosophy class, when the two blonde girls cornered me in the corridor, that I realised all American boys were NOT like this.

"Hey. You must be Krista." Blondie number one smiled sweetly at me. It made me feel a little bit sick.

"Kris." I corrected her. "No one calls me Krista."

"I'm Pheobe." Blondie one said, extending a hand. I didn't take it. "This is Beth." The other one smiled too. Again, the sick feeling. "We thought we'd introduce ourselves, seeing as you're new here."

I pulled a sarcastic smile and said. "Well thanks." Not really knowing what else to say.

"You just moved here?" Blondie one.

"From the UK, yeah."

"Awww!" Blondie two squealed. It hurt my ears. "You're English!"

"Guess so."

"Cute accent." Blondie one twisted her long hair round a thin finger. I grimaced.

"Anyway," Blondie one continued with a coy smile. "We saw you hanging out with the Quileute kids."

"Yeah, Jacob and his gang." Blondie two added with a dreamy look on her face. Again with the sick feeling! What was it with these two? And since when were Quil and his friends known as the Quileute kids? When I didn't say anything, Blondie one looked at her friend before turning back to me.

"So did you already know Quil Ateara? You seemed to walk in with him today."

"No actually, we just met. Nice guy though." The blonde brigade looked a little taken aback.

"So what, you _just _met them?" Blondie one looked like she just swallowed her mascara stick.

"Yep." I was enjoying this. "He came said hi and, well, we just clicked, I guess."

The blonde brigade exchanged a glance.

"Well, anyway. We thought, maybe we should all hang out. Y'know: you, us and the Quileute gang."

I feigned surprise. "What, you're not friends with them already?"

Blondie gave me a funny look. "Well, duh! No. They don't talk to anyone else. They just kinda, hang out on their own-"

"-Yeah, we were like SO surprised when you came into class today and sat with them. I mean… you're new." Blondie two let her 'nice' façade drop for a second, and gave me a contemptuous look before recomposing herself. I almost laughed out loud at how transparent they were.

"So anyway, how about it?" Blondie one tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "We could all go to the movies tonight?"

"Yeah, and then the three of us could stay over mine. Slumber party. Get to know each other!" Blondie two seemed literally raring to go.

I had to hand it to them, they were _trying _to be nice, and it wasn't like I didn't appreciate the effort. But it was obvious they just wanted an 'in' to the sex-gods I apparently now hung out with. If I hadn't been seen hanging with Jacob and co, they probably wouldn't have bothered talking to me at all. I suddenly realised they were still waiting for my answer, I had totally zoned out.

"Ummm." I stalled, not sure of the best way to say no. "That's really sweet of you, but I actually have plans tonight." The two looked a little crestfallen. I decided to be truthful. "Plus, I don't really know them that well, you know. I mean, I just met them and they seem nice, but I'm not sure we're on the 'hanging-out-after-school' level yet." I decided to try my luck. "But maybe just the three of us could do something sometime?"

The blonde brigade exchanged another glance, weighing up their choices. "Yeah, maybe." Number one said. "We'll give you a call sometime."

They strutted off before I had the chance to tell them that neither of them had my number.

I felt slightly stupid. Of course they didn't actually want to be friends with me, they just saw me as a way of getting to know the Quileute guys. I was still the new kid, the one no one wanted to talk to. I half-smiled sadly to myself. A hand on my shoulder made me jump and I spun round quickly to face my attacker.

"Quil!" I yelped, placing a hand on my chest. "You scared the living daylights out of me!"

Quil chuckled. "You are funny Kris." He said. "The things you say: pillock; bloody; living daylights…" I blushed. "Saw you were having some trouble with Pheobe and Beth." He nodded at their retreating backs.

"No trouble." I rolled my eyes. "They were asking after you, actually."

Quil laughed again. "Yeah, they don't handle rejection too well." I raised my eyebrows. "They've been trying to ask us out for ages. Don't really understand the meaning of the word 'no'"

"Ohhh." I nodded, understanding. "Well, stands to reason they weren't just being nice to me."

Quil punched me on the arm playfully. It kinda hurt. "Who needs 'em? You've got us!"

I looked at him sceptically. "We just met."

"What? You don't like hanging out with us?" Quil looked a little affronted. I hastily recovered my tracks.

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant. I love hanging out with you guys." I bit my tongue. I was gushing, not like me at all! "I mean, you're the only sane people I've met here."

"Ah." Quil put his arm round my shoulders, steering me down the corridor. "That's only because we're not letting you meet anyone else. Then you'll realise how insane we actually are, and not want to hang out with us any more."

I laughed; highly doubting that would ever happen. I liked Quil, Jacob and even Embry. They were fun to be around and they made me feel welcome. Seth was different. I didn't understand him. Quil warned me about Seth, but I didn't realise how exactly accurate his description of him was: shy and strange. I wished I knew how to act around him. Part me thought _whatever. I'll just ignore him and focus on the others. _But another massive part of me yearned to speak to him, to get to know him. The way he looked at me… it scared me to death but it also made my stomach do a double back flip. I wanted him around. It was as if, as soon as I saw him, my sole reason for coming here was to be with him.

But that's ridiculous, right?

I dismissed all thoughts of Seth, concentrating instead on the heat that was radiating from the boy beside me. I mean, seriously, he was boiling! The arm draped over my shoulders felt like one of those heated electric blankets.

"By the way, why do people call you the 'Quileute boys'?" I asked, remembering Blondie's name fore them.

Quil looked a tad nervous. "What? Oh. Umm, it's just like a nickname given to us. Jacob's family dates back pretty far in La Push and it's a…. kind of a family history thing." He didn't say anything else on the matter so, like all things, I let it drop.

Quil steered me outside to the front of the school where everyone was streaming out to leave. Jacob waved to me from over beside my truck. I waved back.

"This your beast?" He asked, patting Vera.

"Yeah." I stroked my van lovingly. "That's my baby."

"Strange choice of car." Embry joked, coming with Seth over to meet us. "Yellow?"

"I like yellow." I retorted, haughtily. "She was a present from my mum. I wanted a VW for ages."

Embry snorted. "Each to their own."

"I like it." Seth mumbled from beside Embry. I stared at him and he stared back. I felt my face burning.

"We-ell!" Jacob wrapped an arm around Seth's shoulders, grinning strangely at me. "We best be off, get little Sethykins home."

Seth looked furious. He glared at Jacob as though he was about to tear his head off. That was one fight I never wanted to see: two enormous boys… it was difficult to decide who would win. Seth shrugged Jacob off of him, roughly, staring at the floor with clenched fists.

"We'll see you tomorrow at school Kris." Quil punched me on the arm. Again: ow!

"Yeah, see ya." I gave them a quick wave before getting into my van. I looked on with envy as Jacob started up the engine of the black motorbike beside my truck, pulling on a helmet. The others walked off in the direction of the forest, laughing and punching each other in that typical 'laddish' way. Only Seth looked back over his shoulder at me as they left. He caught my eye and, instead of his usual starey-stare or hurried downward glance, he smiled.

And my world melted.

Oh God. I was in love with Seth Clearwater.

* * *

**Love it? Hate it? Completely confused by it? Press the button and let me know! Reviews make my day :)**


	2. Chapter Two: Seth

**Hello again. A BIG thank you to all of my reviewers. It's so nice to get such positive feedback after the first chapter. **

**To 'Clover', _Marmite_ is an British food: a spread that you put on bread. It's made from yeast-extract and sounds disgusting but is actually amazing. It's really similar to Australian _Vegemite_. The slogan is "you either love it or hate it" because it has such an unusual taste that you find that you either absolutely adore it, or can't stand the stuff. Personally, I'm a fan, but go try some for yourself! (Thanks for your lovely review as well, Clover. Much appreciated.)**

**This chapter is distinctly shorter than the last, but that's because it's just a little filler from Seth's point of view. I've already written the next two chapters which are considerably longer so, you can look forward to those. But here it is: little Seth's view on the whole situation!**

**Disclaimer: Same as before. Wish I owned it though *sigh***

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_Seth Clearwater_

The smell of Emily's cooking wafted from her house in a whirlwind of smells. I drooled slightly as my inner dog whined for the food. I felt the vibrations of Jacob's bike pull up in front of the house before I heard the hum of its engine.

I was going to KILL him.

_Cool it Seth, it was just a joke. _Quil caught the drift of my thoughts and chided me as we ran through the forest.

_Yeah, and to be honest you behaved like a right idiot all day! _Embry joined in. Ugh. I hated the pair of them right now.

_We love you too._ Quil laughed.

I wrinkled up my nose and concentrated on running faster than the others, determined to reach the house before them. Embry, always the lover of a competition, sped up too.

_So childish _Quil sighed.

I burst from the trees at precisely the same time as Embry, and fell in a rolling, yelping ball at Jacob's feet. He rolled his eyes, taking off his helmet.

"Cool it you two." He said, then winked at me. I remembered why I was going to kill him. I jumped to my feet with a snarl. _SETHYKINS?!? _I screamed in my head. I was too angry to phase back. I wished Jacob would phase so I could scream at him when he could actually hear me. Quil sauntered through the trees, doing up the zipper of his pants. He'd already phased.

"Seth's angry." He said to Jacob lazily as he opened the door to the house. The action was shortly followed by a childish squeal.

"QUIL!"

"Claire-bear!"

Jacob chuckled as we caught the sight of Quil hugging his five-year-old terror through the open doorway. Shaking my head, I took advantage of the situation, and my calm head, to phase back.

I did so, and found myself sitting, naked, at Jacob's feet.

"You!" I snarled. Jacob laughed, putting down his helmet.

"If you want me to take you seriously Seth, you're going to have to put some clothes on."

I got to me feet, trembling with rage. "You… you embarrassed me! In front of-"

"-Your dream-girl. Yeah, I got that. But, seriously! Get dressed, man!" Jacob threw me a pair of jeans and underwear. Begrudgingly I pulled them on. Embry had by this point emerged, human and fully dressed, from the trees.

"Save it for later, Seth." He patted my shoulder. "Jacob would so rip you apart right now, and then Emily would have a fit."

As if on cue, Emily appeared at the doorway. "I guess you lot aren't too hungry." She teased. "I'll just throw these bacon butties out then, shall I?"

The tray of food in her arms looked, and smelled, so appetising that I decided to let my feud drop -for the time being- and followed Jacob and Emily into the house.

"Seff!" Aww man, Claire had spotted me.

"Hey there Clairy-fairy." I picked her up as she tottered over to me. "You been playing dress-up?"

She hit me on the head with her little plastic fairy wand, her tiny features pinched into a frown. "No. Bad boy. I AM a fairy."

"Ok, ok!" I laughed, despite myself. She is the cutest kid you'll ever see, after Nessie of course. "Sorry Claire. I forgot. You gonna grant me a wish, huh?"

Claire clapped her little hands, clearly delighted. "Wish! Wish!"

"I wish… for one of Emily's bacon butties. Can you get me one, Clairy-fairy?"

Claire, beaming, hopped down out of my arms and tottered off to find me some food. I chuckled. It was nice having her around sometimes. Reminded me that I ought to go visit Nessie sometime. That is, if Jake would still let me after I KICK HIS BUTT for earlier.

A hand on my shoulder broke my thoughts. I turned round. "Sam." I exhaled, grateful for my old Alpha's presence. I re-ally needed to speak to him right now.

"Heard about your day." Sam grinned. "Congrats Seth. You imprinted!"

I grimaced, collapsing into a chair, head in my hands. "Ugh! Sam it was awful. I totally screwed everything up! She must think I'm the biggest dork ever!"

Embry, face full of food, clapped me on the back. "You did act like someone that ought to be checked into the nearest mental asylum, bro."

I groaned as Sam raised his eyebrows. "It can't have been _that_ bad! What did you do? Talk too much? Did you scare her away?"

"No." I looked up hopelessly. "The opposite. She must think I'm a mute or something." I put my head in my hands again. "I thought imprinting was meant to be easy."

"Was with me." Paul offered from the table. "I just looked at Rachael and BAM. She couldn't resist me."

"Yeah," Jacob's expression darkened. "That's my sister you 'Bam-ed'."

Paul grinned, shoving more food into his mouth.

"Imprinting is never easy Seth." Sam said quietly to me. "I should know."

I thought of Leah and the mess that had been created with Emily's arrival. I nodded, understanding. "Yeah, I guess."

"The main thing is just to be yourself around her. She's a normal girl, just like you're a normal boy."

I scoffed. "She's not normal. She's perfect. She's the most perfect girl you can imagine. She's funny, gorgeous, clever, has the cutest accent…" I was cut off by laughter from behind me. I glared at Jacob and the others. How dare they be entertained by my misery!

"Seth, seriously. Don't overwhelm the girl. You just need an opportunity to get talking. It will be as natural as breathing. It's just…" He paused. "It's not uncommon for the object of someone's imprint to not be… immediately attracted to their imprintee."

I frowned, not understanding.

"She might not love you back Seth." Called out Paul, unhelpfully from behind me. I groaned and put my head in my hands again. Someone obviously hit Paul, because there was a loud yelp from behind.

"It'll work out. It always does. It just might take some… time." Sam was choosing his words carefully, I could tell.

"I was such an idiot though Sam, I mean. She asked me questions and, I got all flustered and couldn't answer straight. She makes me all hot and bothered, it's so complicated."

"Try imprinting on the five year old." Called out Quil. "That can _really _mess with your psyche!"

Claire chose this moment to grant my wish.

"Seff!" She toddled over, all covered with tomato ketchup, carrying a bacon roll very carefully with two hands. "Wish!"

"Awww, Clairy-fairy!" I cooed, taking the buttie and scooping her up with my other arm, covering my bare chest with ketchup. "You make the best fairy."

Claire's whole face lit up and she beamed at me. "Claire make all Seff's wishes come true."

"Can you make Krista fall in love with me?" I muttered under my breath. "That's my wish."

"Wish! Wish!" Claire giggled, hitting me on the head with her ketchup covered wand.

"I think that's enough wishes for now, Claire-bear." Quil took the little giggling monster from my arms and into his own. "Hows about I wish for you to take a bath, you little monkey?"

Claire hit Quil with her wand. "No! Bad boy! Not monkey. I'm a FAIRY!"

"Alright, alright." Quil laughed, like this was his favourite game in the world. "Then it's fairy bath-time!" With a quick nod from Emily, he whisked Claire upstairs.

I turned my attention back to the bacon.

"Don't worry Seth." Sam patted my back. "This'll sort itself out."

Suddenly Jacob sauntered over. "How about this Saturday: beach party. You, Krista and us. Kim and Rachel can come too."

I could feel my face pulling into a grin. "That's a great idea, Jake! Aw man, you're the best!"

Jacob rolled his eyes at me. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He headed towards the door. "I'm off to see Nessie, wanna come?"

"Sure." I grinned, suddenly on top of the world. I waved goodbye to Emily, thanking her for the food, and nodded to Sam. He smiled back.

I found it a little difficult to phase, I was almost bouncing with excitement.

"Cool it Seth. C'mon!" Jacob chided as he took off his pants. "Don't wet yourself or anything."

I contained myself after that: changing and phasing. But I couldn't suppress the spark of excitement inside me. I was going to see her again: Krista. My Krista. So what if she didn't love me straight away? That just meant I had to work a little harder. I could do it. For her I could do anything.

_Jake?_

_What, Seth? _Jacob sounded grumpy. He'd been thinking about Nessie again and I'd interrupted. Whoops.

_What was it like when you imprinted? _I had to ask. I just _had _to. I wanted to make sure that… well… what I was feeling… that it was normal.

I could see the mixture of thoughts and pictures that whizzed around Jacob's head. I saw the moment that he first laid eyes on Renesme. I felt everything shift from the way it was, like the whole centre of the universe was her, and only her. Nothing else.

Just like I had felt with Krista.

_Just like that. _Jacob nodded his head as he ran, remembering the moment fondly. _Like she's the only thing that matters. Every thing you do, every decision you make… it's all for her. You're always thinking about her… what's best for her. She defines you now Seth, whether you like it or not._

I panted a sigh of relief. This was nothing new; nothing I didn't know already.

_And you know what Seth? _Jacob turned his head as we ran, to look at me.

_What, bro?_

_It's the best feeling in the whole goddamn world._

I yelped enthusiastically. _Aww yeah!_

_** ----------------------------------------------**_

Arriving at the Cullen's was quick and simple. Nessie was sitting on the front step of the veranda, waiting for us with a:

"JAKEY!"

Jacob didn't phase back immediately. He knew how Nessie loved playing with him in his wolf form. Instead he ran over to her, licking her face with his big ol' tongue. Nessie giggled, clearly delighted.

"Jakey, Jakey, Jakey!" She clapped her tiny little hands, a pink flush growing across her cheeks from being in such close proximity to Jacob's heat. God that kid was pretty.

I decided to phase back, so I could talk to our friends properly. I dipped behind a tree to phase and put underwear and pants on. No need to corrupt Nessie's modesty now.

"Hey Nessie." I called to her, walking over to the house.

"Seth-seth!" Nessie looked absolutely delighted to see me. It just made my day better. Suddenly she narrowed her pretty little eyes at me. "You changed."

Damn that kid was intuitive.

"In what way, Ness?" I scooped the girl into my arms, giving Jake the opportunity to slip away and change into something decent.

Nessie stretched up her hand to touch my face. She showed me a close up of Jacob's face. "Ew Ness, I see that ugly mug every day, I don't need to look at it close up." I teased. Nessie shook her head in frustration and showed me the same image again, only this time she panned away from his face. It was if I was a camera and Jacob was looking directly into me, only the expression on his face was that of complete love. His eyes bore into me as if I was the only thing that existed and I felt the radiating heat from just his stare. Nessie pulled her hand away.

"Is that how Jake looks at you Nessie?" I asked her, cocking my head on one side. "How does that show I've changed?"

She wrinkled up her face, clearly frustrated. I had no idea what she was getting at. "No, silly. You… you changed…" Her eyes crumpled up real tight and it looked like she was going to cry. I stroked her little curls, horror stricken that I'd made her upset.

"Hey! Hey, Nessie… shhh. Don't cry. I just don't understand y-" Then it hit me. She knew I'd imprinted. Somehow, this crazy little kid knew that I'd found my one and only, the same way Jacob had found his with her. I tilted Nessie's head up to look at me. "I get you Ness. You're right I have changed. I imprinted."

Nessie's face unbunched itself and her tiny mouth stretched into a huge grin. "Yes!" She was clearly pleased with us both: her for spotting my change, me for understanding her. I was about to tell her about Krista when Jacob suddenly whipped her out of my arms.

"Sorry Seth, gonna have to steal her from you. Go get your own imprint. This one's mine" Nessie laughed as Jake ruffled her hair. I rolled my eyes.

"Where's your mum, Ness?" I asked, after deciding to leave the imprinted couple to their playtime. Renesme pointed inside the house. I gave her a grin before following her instructions.

"Bella?" I called as I stepped inside. "Edward?"

I could tell they were in. You could always feel their presence around the house. It was nice just to let myself in uninvited. I was pretty glad that I was on good terms with all of the Cullens by now.

"Oh great, one of the mutts."

Well… almost all of the Cullens.

"Hey Rosalie." I called out to the blonde beauty sitting on the sofa, Emmett's arm draped over her shoulders like a blanket. "Hey Emmett."

"Sup." Emmett gave me a little wave before pointing to the kitchen. "They're in there."

I wandered in. Bella was sitting on the counter-top, legs crossed holding a cookery book. Edward was standing on the other side of the room, smirking.

"Hello Seth." Edward walked over to me, smiling. I always liked this dude best out of all the Cullens. Expect for Bella of course.

The lady herself looked up as Edward spoke and smiled, a little thinly at me. "Hey." She waved a hand before turning her attention back to her book.

I frowned. "Owch, I always knew vamps were cold, but since when did Bella become the ice-queen?"

Edward chuckled as Bella looked up from her book, her face pinched in horror.

"What? Oh no! Seth, I'm sorry! I didn't meant to be rude… I…"

I held up a hand to silence her. "Don't sweat it." I said. "I'm kidding."

Bella set down the book. "Charlie's coming for dinner." She explained. "And he's bringing your mom."

I raised my eyebrows. "A date?"

Bella laughed. "I guess…"

"That'd make you my step-sister! Sweet!" The idea seemed like a pretty obvious one. Single mom, single dad. Why not? Charlie and Mom made as much sense as… Ben and Jerry's or… well… they made sense.

Bella laughed harder. "I'm glad someone's excited."

"Why, are you not?"

"It's been so long since I cooked, what with not needing to and all…" She trailed off, picking up the book again. "I want to make something special, but I'm so out of touch!"

Edward chuckled. "She's stressed over nothing as usual." Bella glared at him. He walked over to her. "They will adore anything you make, love." He kissed her.

Gross.

I pulled my best 'disgusted' face. "Well, I'll leave you two love-birds then." I made for the door. The two didn't seem to hear me. "Yeah… I'm leaving." I lingered, desperate to tell them my news. "Just going now… don't bother to say goodbye or any- JEEZ GUYS I IMPRINTED!"

They broke apart immediately: Bella looked delighted as Edward laughed. He obviously knew already… stupid mind-reader.

"Oh my goodness, Seth that's amazing!" Bella gushed, leaping off the counter in a graceful hop to hug me. "Who is she?"

"Her name's Krista. She's new at school, in my year, small, dark hair, really pretty, " I babbled. "She's in most of my classes and she drives this really neat van. It's like a VW campervan but it's yellow so I guess she's a little kooky. But nice you know? And she's British! She has the cutest little accent and… she's so…" I stopped short at the look on both Edward and Bella's faces: a knowing sort of look in the way only married couples can make. "What?" I hollered. "I talk to much?"

"Just a tad." Edward grinned at me.

"We're happy for you Seth, we really are." Bella hugged me again. "I bet she loves you. How can she not?"

I always liked Bella. She's so nice.

"Thanks. I'm gonna head off now, but thanks."

"Be cool Seth." Edward winked at me. Stupid mind-reader. "She'll love you for just being you."

I rolled my eyes at him, grabbing a packet of chips from a cupboard where I knew there were some. The Cullen's always kept food in for Jake and me.

"Bye Seth." Bella called melodically as I left. Rosalie's parting words were not as sweet.

"So long mongrel."

Bitch.

I waved to Jacob and Nessie as I left, knowing that they probably wouldn't see me, they were way too content with each other's company. Changing and phasing, I wondered where to go.

It wasn't dark, so I didn't want to head back home just yet. I thought I might go run… gather my thoughts. So much had happened in just one day. Crazy!

I was determined not to muck my next meeting with Krista up. As I ran through the forest, I made mental notes in my head.

Note one: Call her Kris. She doesn't like Krista. Don't know why… Krista's such a pretty name. Pretty like her… _concentrate Seth!_

Note two: make conversation. Don't just answer questions blandly like you did before, you stupid great oaf. Ask her questions: where does she live? Why did she move here? Get her to tell you more about herself.

Note three: say something nice about her. Not that that would be hard… there were so many nice things to say. 'Krista, I love your eyes. They're so dark and I could totally get lost in them.' Or 'Your hair Krista, It's so long and flowing. It catches the light so nicely and when you tuck it behind your ear you look so pretty.' DAMN. I'd already forgotten number one. Call her _Kris_ NOT _Krista._

I thought about how little I knew about her. I didn't even know her middle name, or if she had a middle name? Did she have pets? Did she even like animals? I hoped to God she would or we'd have an even harder time with the whole werewolf thing.

There was so much I didn't know, and so much TO know. I decided to concentrate on what I _did _know about her:

Her name is Krista Hughes. She moved here from England. She doesn't eat a lot, but she likes juice. She smelt of juice this morning and she had it for lunch so that much is clear. She doesn't like people staring at her, or people thinking she's just 'the new girl'. She hides behind her hair when she's feeling shy but tucks it behind her ears when she's not thinking about it. She prefers boys' company to girls' because they're easier to talk to (except when your name is Seth Clearwater). She likes English Lit: she talked loads in class. She hates maths: she made faces at her work throughout the whole lesson. She chews her pen tops. She doodles on her work. She can be pretty sarky when she wants to but I think it's a defence. She dresses in baggy clothes and often covers her stomach with her arms when she sits down. I think it's because she thinks she's fat. She shouldn't. She's beautiful.

Jeesh! All these things I knew, and I only just met her!

I approached the front door to my house and phased back, pulling out the clothes that I always had hidden behind a plant pot in a plastic bag. Mom had gotten pretty fed up of me walking through the house naked…

Oh god!

Suddenly it hit me...

_HOW_ was I going to explain this to my mother?


	3. Chapter Three: Beach

**Hello again. Another HUGE thankyou to all my amazing reviewers. If I had the time, I'd reply to each and every one to say thank you, but you're just going to have to settle for my massive virtual hug of thanks to you all. You are all so wonderful. Special thanks to _peacefulloak_ as she reviews pretty much all of my stories and writes the nicest most amazing reviews so THANK YOU.**

**Longer chapter this time. Back to Kris' p.o.v. Hope it fulfills all expectations. I personally think this chapter isn't as good as the next one (which I've already written) but you'll have to wait to read it! :) haha.**

**Disclaimer: same as always. All hail Stephanie Meyer.**

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_Krista Hughes_

I was weirdly excited about my second day at La Push High. The first day had gone so well that I wasn't at all dreading it like I had done the previous morning. In fact I actually got out of bed myself, instead of mum having to drag me up like every other morning since we'd arrived here. It was the thought of seeing Quil, Jacob and the others put me in high spirits. Then there was the thought of seeing Seth…

Mum herself was happy I'd cheered up. When I'd got in from school, I actually smiled when she asked the all important "_So? How was your day?"_

She'd been ecstatic when I told her I actually enjoyed it.

"Kiki! I'm so happy you made friends. See it's not going to be so bad here after all! Maybe you should unpack?" That was pushing it though. My smile turned into a grimace and I stormed upstairs dragging my bag of schoolwork behind me. I know I'm pretty unfair to my mother but sometimes I feel like she deserves it. She should've at least tried to stay with my dad instead of just getting divorced. But I digress…

This morning, I was being nice. I smiled brightly as she handed me my juice and toast. I asked her how work was going: she had a job at the local bookshop. She said it was fine and that she really enjoyed it and I was actually a tiny bit happy for her.

As happy as you can be towards someone you kind of resent.

I thought about Seth as I brushed my teeth. Weird association I know, but I thought about the dream I'd had. In my dream I'd been standing on a cliff top with Seth. He'd been telling me that he loved me, but I was refusing to hear it. I'd clamped my hands over my ears and curled up into a ball. Then he turned into an enormous bear and smacked me with his paw right off of the cliff. I woke up falling.

The dream had startled me. I had no idea what it meant, but then again my dreams were always outlandish and vivid so I tried not to think about it, but instead concentrate on how I was going to talk to Seth. I made a promise to myself that I would make every effort possible to get to know him. I'd even made an effort with my clothes: wearing a denim mini-skirt with black tights instead of my faded jeans. Still the same hoodie and UGGs though.

I arrived at school on time, parking Vera next to Jacob's bike again. Quil, Jacob and Embry were standing by the entrance to school, waiting for me. No sign of Seth though.

I got out of my van and walked over to the boys.

"Hey." I tried to sound casual. "Where's Seth?"

Embry rolled his eyes as Quil chuckled. Another inside joke obviously. "He's here." Jacob said, nodding to someone behind me. I spun around. Seth stood - tall and beautiful - smiling at me.

"Hey Krista." He said. I didn't even bother to correct him.

"Hey." I felt my cheeks glow with a red blush. Damn my stupid, stupid complexion! Seth obviously remembered my name preference as he suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Crap! It's Kris! Sorry! I forgot you don't like being called…" He trailed off staring at the floor miserably as Embry, Jacob and Quil collapsed with laughter.

"It's fine." I said, wishing the stupid 'lads' behind me would shut up. "Enough people round here call me Krista, it's starting to stick."

Seth grinned at me sheepishly and my heart melted. _Play it cool Kris, c'mon!_

Quil chose this moment to clap an arm round my shoulders. "Shall we go inside? Or shall we stay here discussing name-calling all morning?"

"Sure thing, porcupine." I teased, knowing that he would get the joke. See, they're not the only ones with inside jokes around here!

The five of us walked down the hallway. I was used to the stares from the other kids by now. I sort of assumed that it went with the Quileute territory. Seth and I chatted. I was surprised at how different he seemed from yesterday. He was almost a completely different person. Before, he was all sullen and shy and now? Well, you couldn't shut him up! Not that I minded. He was sweet; so sincere. He seemed to emit this positive aura. It was impossible to be unhappy when hanging around Seth. He made me laugh too and I made a point of sitting next to him in all my morning lessons.

At lunch we sat at our usual table. The boys again had their mountains of food while I opted for a sandwich with my juice.

"You guys don't eat much then." I said sarcastically, eyeing Jacob's enormous plate of sausages, chips, beans, egg, tomatoes and bread. No salad though. Obviously not a fan of green stuff.

Quil rolled his eyes. "It's how we kids roll. Work hard, play hard-"

"Eat hard." Finished Embry. I laughed.

"You don't each much at all though." Noted Seth. "You should take a leaf out of our book, you look like you need fattening up." I blushed, embarrassed. I hated anyone ever mentioning my figure. I know what he said was a compliment but truth be told, I've always had issues with my weight. I've always thought myself… chunkier… than other girls my age and since my patch of not eating during my parents' divorce, I felt like I'd put on so much weight. It's not that I think I'm fat; it's just that I know I'm never going to be Keira Bloody Knightly.

Seth seemed to notice my discomfort as he quickly changed the subject.

"You got any pets, Kris?" I looked up.

"Me? No." I shook my head. "I had a rabbit once. Billy. Loved it, but I had to give it to my best friend to look after when we moved."

"My dad'th cawewd Biwwy." Commented Jacob through a mouthful of food. I grimaced.

"Tell me again when you've swallowed Jacob Black."

He grinned sheepishly at me. "Thowwy."

"His dad's name is Billy too." Offered Seth. "Billy Black."

"Cool name." I said. "Sounds a bit like a nursery rhyme character."

Jacob rolled his eyes, mouth finally empty. "Yeah, because you're the _first _person to say that." The sarcasm literally dripped from his voice.

"Mum makes that joke all the time." Seth grinned at me.

"Better than a girl with a boys name." Embry teased. I shot him daggers.

"Unless you want to wear your lunch as a fetching hat, I'd shut it Embry Call."

Jacob snorted into his meal, as Quil and Seth did mock bowing towards me, saying "We are not worthy" over and over. I smiled sweetly at Embry who was now glaring at me over his food.

As we were leaving the cafeteria Seth took hold of my wrist and pulled me aside. Tiny electric sparks flitted from where he touched me.

"Kris." He spoke softly. "I'm really sorry if I said anything to upset you earlier. I didn't mean anything by it."

I stared at him, shocked. "No, no. I'm not upset." How could he tell the food comment had affected me?

"It's just, you didn't eat after I made the 'fattening up comment.'" Ah. "You're not fat." I made a face. "Really." He added, sounding so earnest. His whole body was radiating honesty and sincerity. I felt like hugging him.

"It's fine Seth. I know I'm not like mega-ly obese or anything. I just have issues sometimes. It's honestly fine."

Seth looked at me like I was mad. "Issues?" He asked, again with the sincerity thing. "But you're beautiful!"

My cheeks burned. He seemed a little embarrassed by what he had said too as he coughed nervously before suggesting we go back to lessons. It had been a strange little outburst, but I couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the day.

**------------------------------------**

The week went by so quickly and before I knew it, it was Friday. I was almost dreading the weekend: the thought of not seeing my friends until Monday. The thought of not seeing Seth until Monday.

"What're you doing tomorrow Kris?" Seth's voice broke into my thoughts during Maths: last lesson of the day.

"Nothing. Why?"

Seth looked sheepish, "well, we were wondering… I was wondering… if you wanted to come to the beach tomorrow? It'd just be you, me and the others and some other friends from around here. You'd get to meet Jacob's sister Rachael… and her boyfriend Paul. Plus you could meet Sam and Emilie, you'd love Emilie. You don't have to or anything it's only if you want t-"

"Seth?"

"Yes?"

"I'd love to."

I grinned at his relieved expression; thankful he'd stopped babbling. He tended to do that when he got nervous.

"Great! So… do you know how to get to the beach?"

I blanked. "I'm new here, remember?"

Seth smacked his forehead. Oh he was so endearing! "Of course. Duh! Well, how about you drive _here_ and I'll come meet you and direct you the rest of the way?"

"Drive to school?"

"Yeah." He suddenly looked at his maths notes, not daring to make eye contact. "I would come pick you up but… I can't drive."

"Can't drive?" What was I today, the echoing bunny?

"No. Never learnt." He was so sweet when he was embarrassed. His huge shoulders sagged and he nervously swept his hair from his eyes.

"Hey, that's fine." I tried to brush the issue away. "The van's definitely up to the task."

He grinned at that. "Sweet. Meet you here at eleven-ish?"

Eleven? Owch. It would take me at least two hours to get ready for this. There went my lie-in. "Eleven sounds great." I lied easily. Seth laughed, as if he'd read my mind.

"No lie-ins when you're with the Quileutes, huh?"

"No sir." I laughed too. "That's ok though. I'm just excited about the beach." And I genuinely was.

Maths went pretty slowly after that. I gave up on doing the pointless calculus problems and decided to play Seth at noughts and crosses instead. I won every time. I'm pretty sure he was letting me though.

Quil and the others caught up with us after class.

"So, did Seth tell you about our plans tomorrow?" Quil asked, enthused.

I nodded. "Sure did. Sounds like fun, as long as it doesn't rain." I eyed the dark sky ominously.

Quil shrugged his shoulder. "If it rains, it rains." He said matter-of-factly. "We'll go to the beach anyway. Emilie's house is real near it so if you get too cold and wet, we can go inside."

"Emilie?" the name rang a bell. "As in Sam's-"

"Wife yes." Jacob finished for me. "They got married this summer. Newlyweds. You'll like her. Everyone does."

I grinned and raised one eyebrow tauntingly at him. "You lot bringing your girlfriends then?"

Embry laughed so hard I thought he was going to cry. "Good luck explaining that one." He clapped Jacob on the back on sauntered off towards t he woods. What the hell was going on? _Another _inside joke?

Jacob looked a little shifty and muttered something like "damn you Embry." I eyed him and Quil suspiciously.

"We don't have girlfriends Kris." Quil explained. "Embry is being an idiot."

"He doesn't have a girlfriend either." Seth pointed out.

"Then why did he find the question so funny?"

Quil and Jacob exchanged a glance. "Well…" Quil started.

"… me and Quil have pretty much no success when it comes to girls." Jacob cut in hurriedly. "Embry thinks we're cursed or something. That's just him being childish."

It seemed plausible… but I didn't buy it. I decided to let it go though.

"Well, whatever. I'll see you guys tomorrow." I gave them a wave. "Am I driving you all down there?"

Quil and Jacob exchanged another glance. Seriously it was if they talked through looks and thoughts rather than words. It was really starting to bug me.

"We're meeting you down there, Kris. It'll just be Seth you're driving." Jacob snickered and Seth punched him.

"I'll see you at eleven." He smiled at me. I had to hold onto the side of my van to stop my legs from giving way beneath me.

"Eleven." I agreed.

**-----------------------------------**

Finding something to wear was a difficult task. Nothing looked nice. The sky was pretty dark and foreboding, but I decided to risk a pair of gold shorts, as it wasn't too cold out. I matched it with a black jumper and a pair of wellies, with black socks pulled up to my knees. It seemed like good rainy-beach gear so I headed downstairs.

Mum was still asleep. She liked her lie-ins as much as I did. She knew where I was going, but I decided to leave her a note anyway. She could be a bit paranoid at times.

_**Mum,**_

_**Gone to beach. Picking up Seth first. Will be back late.**_

_**Don't wait up.**_

_**Love you**_

_**- K**_

I scribbled it on the back of a shopping list and pinned it to the fridge with a magnet. Grabbing an apple and a handful of cheerios, I went to my van.

My stomach jittered as I drove the drive to school. I was going to see Seth; just him and me.

Me and Seth. Seth and me. I was nervous though I had no idea why. Oh yeah… I was unconditionally in love with the boy. That might be why. I rolled my eyes at myself.

I had NEVER got this nervous about a boy before. I mean, I had boyfriends back in the UK, but they were never too serious. Me and Seth… well, we weren't even dating or anything but somehow, I just got this feeling that everything was going to turn out OK.

I pulled into the (conveniently empty) school car park. Seth was there, waiting. His whole face lit up when he saw me, like I was his Christmas and birthday all rolled into one. It was kind of sweet.

I opened the door to the passenger seat. "Come meet Vera."

Seth hopped in, his long legs making my usual clamber to get into my van pretty superfluous.

"Vera?" He questioned.

"Yeah. Don't ask why, but she just looked like a Vera." I patter the steering wheel lovingly.

Seth laughed: a deep, throaty sound that seemed to warm me up from the inside, but that could be just the extreme heat he was radiating from his whole body. I pulled out of the car park. "Which way Seth-o?" Seth looked at me a little strangely. "What?" I asked.

"Seth-o?"

I blushed. "Sorry." I mumbled. "It just sort of, sprung to mind… I'm childish I know… sorry."

He suddenly laughed again, leaning back in his seat to get more comfortable. "No, it's fine. I like it." He winked at me mischievously. "But that means I get to think up a pet name for you too…"

I groaned. "As long as it's not 'the Kris-a-nator'. My friend went through a transformers phase and he would only answer to 'Tom-a-tron'."

Seth smiled. "No, not Kris-a-nator. I'm thinking something a little more lovable." He thought for a moment. "I'll get back to you on that one."

"Fine by me." I concentrated on the road. "Am I going the right way?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just follow this road. I'll direct you."

"Well, that's what you're here for."

"That and comic relief." Seth waggled his eyebrows. I giggled.

There was a moment's silence: not uncomfortable, but sort of the opposite. It was nice just to sit in his presence: his radiating positivity filling the whole van. I wanted to reach out and touch him, just his hand or something; feel those electric sparks again, but I thought better of it and kept both hands firmly on the steering wheel.

"So who can I expect to meet?" I said after a time. "The whole gang?"

"The whole gang." Seth agreed. "Me, Quil, and Embry. Then there's Paul, Jared, Sam, My sister Leah, Colin and Brady. Jared will bring his im- his girlfriend Kim." I frowned at Seth's stutter, had he been going to say something else? "Then of course there's Emilie. No doubt Quil will bring Claire. She's only five though."

"Is that his younger sister?" I asked, wondering why Quil would bring a five year old to a beach full of teenagers.

Seth bit his lip. "Kinda." He said. "She's not his biological sister, but he looks after her. They're as good as related."

"Oh." I didn't really understand, but I let it go. "Is Jake not coming?"

"Nah, he's up at Nessie's."

"Nessie?"

"Oh, she's the daughter of our friends in Forks: The Cullens. He babysits a lot." He snorted, clearly finding the situation amusing.

I sighed, mildly irritated. "You guys always have so many private jokes that I never get. It's pretty frustrating. Makes me feel kinda excluded"

Seth looked pained, as if I'd punched him in the face. "What? Krissy you should never feel that! You're one of us now! I never want to exclude you from anything it's just that some things are a little complicated… soon everything will be explained, I promise." He looked even more shocked when I shook my head, laughing. "What?!"

"Krissy? Is this my new name now?" I could hardly speak through my laughter.

Seth looked a little relieved. "Oh. Well, I guess. I just came out. You like it?"

"No." I admitted. "But I suppose there's no stopping you. As long as the others don't use it."

Seth smiled, his aura radiating. "Just between us then." He seemed pretty pleased at the idea of sharing something with me. This made my insides squirm and my heart beat so loudly I was afraid of having a heart attack.

Silence fell upon as again as I drove down a narrow lane through the trees which I guessed led to the beach. My window was open and I could smell the salty air. "What you said a moment ago." I asked carefully, not wanting to sound clingy "About me being 'one of you' now and everything being explained… what did you mean?"

Seth blushed. It was cute, seeing a huge bloke like him blush. He hunched his muscled shoulders and folded his arms and I couldn't help but imagine those arms wrapped around me. Suddenly I became aware that he was talking. Oops.

"but it will be – Krissy are you listening?"

"What? Oh yeah. Sorry, I was away with the fairies." I blushed. God I could be SUCH a moron sometimes. Seth just smiled at me, as if I'd told him he'd won the lottery.

"You're cute." He said abruptly. I blushed so much I thought my cheeks would set on fire.

"Umm, thanks? I guess." That moment, by rights, ought to have been incredibly awkward, but somehow it just felt… right: natural as breathing. I pulled the handbrake up. "We're here."

Seth opened his door and jumped out. I clambered out of mine, trying to look as graceful as possible. Seth laughed at me and I glowered.

"Alright Mr I'm-tall-enough-to-get-out-of-a-van-without-making-an-arse-of-myself. Some of us are just a little vertically challenged." I huffed, folding my arms over my chest.

"Would it help to give you a height advantage?" Seth asked, grinning evilly. Before I could ask what he meant, he suddenly scooped me into his arms and hoisted me onto his shoulders.

"SETH! OH MY GOD! PUT ME DOWN!" I screamed, clinging onto his hair as he laughed and hurtled forward. I felt like a three year old, clinging onto her big brother like a crutch. Seth really was a giant. "Please Seth. If you don't put me down right this minute-"

"Hey Kris!" Quil's voice made me open my eyes. I hadn't been aware I'd even closed them. I felt like such a pillock.

"Umm, hey." I would've waved, but I was afraid to let go. Part of me didn't want to let go either. I liked the feel of Seth's soft hair around my fingers, and I especially liked the way his hands had curved round my shins to hold them to his chest.

"Practicing for later I see?" Quil chuckled and winked at Seth. I blushed.

"Later?" I tried to keep my voice cool.

"Oh yeah, when we swim. Y'know, the game where you go on each others shoulders and try to push the other off." Quil was trying extremely hard not to laugh. If I had been nearer the ground I would've smacked him. Arrogant –

"You wanna come down?" Seth's voice drifted up from between my legs. NOT LIKE THAT… I meant because I was sitting on his shoulders, so his head was between my… oh never mind.

"Yes please." Seth lifted his arms to grab me under my armpits and put me effortlessly down. I wobbled a bit when he let go, so he grabbed my waist to steady me. Electricity ran through my body.

"Come on love-birds. Emilie wants to meet Kris." Quil turned and headed towards the group further up the beach. There was a fire roaring in the centre. It looked so atmospheric and pretty, even if the clouds were looming threateningly above us.

Seth grabbed my hand as we walked towards the camp. His hand was scorching hot but somehow fit perfectly with mine, as if we were a jigsaw puzzle: made to fit together. He didn't look at me as we walked but as I glanced up at his face I saw the huge grin that was plastered there. It made me smile myself and move a little closer to his body.

"You must be Krista!" A tall woman with dark hair came towards me. I gasped. Her face! She had three, long, winding scars running down her cheeks and her bare arms yielded another. Seth gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. I felt immediately guilty for having reacted like that. The woman gave me the biggest smile and pulled me into a hug, detaching my hand from Seth's. "I'm Emily." She said as she pulled away holding me at arms length to get a good look. Like Seth, she seemed to radiate a positive, loving aura, but hers was more motherly than Seth's bouncing, enthusiastic one.

"Hey." I smiled shyly. "Nice to meet you."

"Come, come! Meet the others. Seth can't hog you all day." She winked at Seth and pulled me towards the others. I felt a tiny twinge as I was moved away from Seth but I could still feel his happy, pulsing aura even through Emilie's maternal one.

"This is Paul and Rachael…"

The pretty girl held out a hand. "Hi! I'm Jacob's sister. Like the upgraded version"

I laughed. She looked a lot like Jake, only shorter and less bulky. She obviously had his sense of humour though.

Rachael pointed into the crowd. "That's Colin, Brady and Jared. Jared's the one eating Kim's face." Sure enough, there was a couple sitting on the far end of the log by the fire, completely lip-locked. The two I presumed were Colin and Brady were busy doing 'bunny ears' behind them. I had to suppress a giggle.

"Kris!" Quil's voice came from behind me. I whipped around and saw him coming towards me, hand in hand with the cutest child I ever saw. "Kris, come meet Claire!"

The little girl hid behind Quil's enormous leg, peeking out from behind his knee.

"Hello Claire." I said, crouching down to be at eye-level with her. "I'm Kris."

"Say hello, Claire." Quil said sternly. She looked up at him with her huge blue eyes and any sternness in Quil's face disappeared immediately. The way he looked at her… it was unlike anything I'd ever seen. He gazed at her with such love and devotion that I found it almost impossible to believe that these two were not brother and sister. Quil scooped Claire up into his arms and I stood up with him.

"Don't be shy Claire-bear. Kris is real nice."

I smiled again at the little girl, peeking out now from behind Quil's neck. "I like your hair-band." I said. "The butterfly's very pretty."

Claire gave me a shy smile, showing all her perfect little teeth. "Say thank you to Kris, Claire." Quil cooed at the child.

"Fankyou Kris." Claire sung, happily. I grinned at Quil.

"She's so pretty." I said with sincerity.

"The prettiest five year old in the whole of La Push." Quil agreed wholeheartedly. Suddenly Claire hit him on the head with her little fist.

"No. Bad Boy. I'm five an' a half."

I laughed at the little child. "Silly Quil." I said. Claire beamed at me.

"Silly Quil." She agreed. She stretched out her pudgy arms to me. "Come play, Krissy?"

I could hear Seth laughing behind me and I groaned. "Ugh. I knew Krissy would stick!"

Seth came over, taking Claire from Quil. "You can't argue with a five and a half year old." He chuckled. Claire gave him a sweet little smile before reaching for me again. "Krissy!" She sang as both Quil and Seth laughed harder.

"Claire has spoken!" Seth said with finality, setting her down so she could grab my hand with her own tiny one. "Seems like you're her new playmate."

"I don't mind." I said, truthfully. Quil gave me the biggest grin ever.

"Welcome to the family." He said, walking over to the fire. I looked at him oddly as Claire dragged me to the sea front screaming "Shells! Pretty shells!"

What had he meant by that? I felt the prickling sensation on the back of my neck that I only felt when Seth was staring at me. I turned to look at him and our eyes locked. I couldn't stop my face breaking into a smile. Honestly, since when did I get all soppy? Since when could a boy make me go weak at the knees with a single glance?

Since I met Seth I guess.

"Krissy!" Claire demanded my attention. "Shells!" She pointed into the water. Sure enough, there was a couple of pretty looking shells beneath the waves.

"Aww, Claire. It's a bit cold to go get those. You'll get all wet!"

Claire looked up at me, her big blue eyes all glassy and pretty. "Please?"

I sighed and picked up the five (and a half) year old, hoisting her onto my shoulders like Seth had with me earlier. Thankful I was wearing my Hunter Wellies, I waded into the water.

"Which one Clairy?"

Claire took some time deliberating. "That one." She pointed with a chubby little finger. "White one."

"Right-o." I bent down to pick it up. The water was icy cold on my skin. "Brrr, Claire-pie, it's freezing!" Claire squealed with delight reaching down to dip her fingers in the water. I grabbed the pretty, white shell from the sandy bottom, drying it with my jumper before handing it to Claire. "Like it?" I asked. Claire giggled, clearly happy. Putting her down on the sand, I cupped the shell to her ear.

"Can you hear the sea, Clairey?" I asked her. Her little eyes widened and a tiny crease appeared between her eyebrows as she listened carefully.

Her mouth widened to the shape of an O as she looked up at me. "The sea!" She whispered in awe.

"How about we go show Quil, huh?" I took her little hand in mine, pulling her along the beach as she held the shell firmly to her ear, eyes still wide with wonder.

"Whatcha got there, Claire-bear?" Quil asked as we approached.

"The sea!" Claire ran over to him, lifting both her arms, demanding to be picked up. He did so and I laughed as she jammed the shell hard against his ear. "Can you hear it?"

Seth sidled up to me. "You make a good babysitter." He teased.

"Mmm, I always keep a trick or two up my sleeve to entertain the youngsters."

Seth suddenly grabbed my hand again, "C'mon. I want you to meet my sister."

My hand was still freezing from the sea, which made Seth's abnormally warm hands even more scorching than usual. "Owch, Seth! Have you got a fever or something?" I pulled my hand away, immediately wishing I hadn't and yearning for his touch again. Seth looked upset.

"Did I hurt you? Kris? I'm so sorry! I kind of forget my own strength sometimes." His eyes went all wide and worried and I hastened to reassure him.

"No, no. I was just shocked by how hot you are." Seth stared at me. I suddenly realised what I said. "Oh! Not like that! I meant as in temperature. Not that you're not… hot I mean. Cause you are… I just meant…" I trailed off blushing profoundly and wishing the ground would swallow me up. He must think I'm a total arse. Well-done Krista.

Instead Seth just beamed at me, taking my hand again, but carefully this time, and pulling me towards a girl that I assumed to be his sister.

"Kris, meet Leah." The girl was bloody gorgeous. She was kind of exotic looking, with short dark hair, perfect copper skin and eyelashes to die for. She looked exactly like a female Seth: a goddess.

Leah didn't say anything to me; instead she just nodded her awareness of my existence and gave me a dirty look. I cowered away slightly, not something I usually do but this girl could glare for her country! It was a full on _I pretty much despise you _glare.

Seth growled at her. I'm not even kidding, he actually growled. Leah rolled her eyes and said "Whatever little brother. I'm sick of all this im-"

Seth cut her off with another growl, louder this time. Leah shot him a disgusted look before turning to me.

"Yeah ok, nice to meet you. I won't talk to you much, it's nothing personal, I just don't do people."

I shrugged. That seemed fair. At least she shared in her brother's honesty, but there was a bitterness about her that I couldn't place.

"Neither do I, most of the time." I confessed, "Though since I came here, that seems to have changed, just like most things in my life."

Leah eyed me darkly. "Yeah, well. Change is something we just have to deal with."

"You're telling me." I sighed.

"Forgive me if I don't sympathise though."

"Not asking for sympathy." I looked her dead in the eye. "Just friendship."

She glared at me for a second, and then suddenly, out of the blue; she laughed. And not just a snide bark of laughter, but a genuine, eyes closed, back of the throat laugh. "You do realise," she got out between breaths. "_That_ is possibly the cheesiest, corniest thing anyone has ever said to me?"

I couldn't help but laugh too. "Yeah, I guess. Can't blame a girl for trying though, right?"

Leah shook her head. "You're strange." She stated, "But you're ok, I guess."

I beamed. Accepted by the sister! Hah! Looking at Seth, his face mirrored how I was feeling. I guessed that a 'you're ok' was the equivalent of a hug by Leah's standards.

Seth pulled me away from his sister.

"Success!" I breathed.

"I know! I'm sorry though. I didn't know she was going to be so… rude. I mean, I know she'd rude but I didn't think… ah well." He punched my arm, playfully. "You're ok."

"Owch!" I huffed. "Watch it." I shoved him back just as my stomach decided to growl loudly. Whoops.

"Hungry?" Seth asked, amused.

"Ravenous."

"Good thing Emilie's an amazing cook!" Seth grabbed my hand again (I was beginning to get used to this) and walked me over to Emilie who was spit roasting sausages on the fire and putting them into bread buns.

"Hot dog?" She offered me one and I took it gratefully. Seth took two.

"Pig." I mumbled, grinning at him.

"Stick insect." He grinned back. I poked my tongue out at him.

We sat down on one of the logs next to Jared and Kim. Kim moved her hotdog from her right hand to her left so she could shake hands.

"Kim." She said. "You must be Krista."

"Kris, yeah, hi." I shook her hand. It was as cold as mine. Good to know I wasn't the only normal heated person here. Everyone else seemed to be boiling.

"How do you like La Push?" Kim asked enthusiastically. "I heard you just moved here from England?"

"Yeah, I did: this summer, the result of a messy divorce."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kim's face crumpled in genuine sympathy. I shrugged it off. I didn't like talking about it.

"But La Push is great. Better than I expected actually. I didn't really want to come here." I confessed.

"We're glad you did though." Seth squeezed my knee. I blushed again.

Jared reached over Kim so that Emilie could hand him his third hotdog. "Well nice to have you on the team Kris." He said brightly. "First piece of advice: eat quick, or someone else will eat it for you."

Kim nodded and mouthed to me. "He's not kidding."

I laughed. "I'd noticed actually. La Push boys seem to have hollow legs!"

Kim looked at me strangely. Seth patted my shoulder in mock sympathy, explaining to the others. "It's ok, she's English. She says weird stuff like that. Wait till she calls you a 'Pillock'."

The other two laughed as I pushed Seth off the log. " Watch it Clearwater, or I'll _show_ you what I mean when I call you a bloody moron."

Seth grinned wickedly at me and, leaning forward, took a huge bite out of my uneaten hotdog. My jaw dropped.

"Told you!" laughed Jared.

"Right that's it." I tossed my hotdog to Jared and lunged at Seth, but he was quicker. Standing up he jumped neatly out of my reach and away from the camp. I ran after him.

Laughing he beckoned me, tauntingly.

"You asked for it Clearwater!" I warned, suppressing my laughter and trying to look serious and menacing (and failing). Seth ran over to the water's edge.

"Dare you." He said, grinning his knee-buckling impish grin. I felt droplets of rain fall onto my face. Regardless, I lunged again. Seth twisted out of my way at the last minute, grabbing me instead round the waist and lifting me into the air. I screamed.

"SETH!" He twirled me round and round laughing, before hoisting me up into a fireman's lift. I was starting to feel pretty dizzy. Good thing I hadn't eaten that hotdog after all.

"Oi! Lovebirds!" Quil's voice came from over by the campsite. "It's raining, in case you haven't noticed. We're all moving into Sam and Emilie's." I noted the trail of people running up the sandbanks to shelter. Seth seemed completely unhindered by the rain.

"Want to go inside?" He asked.

"Not really." I admitted. His body was keeping me warm enough.

"Good." Seth twisted me round till he was supporting my back with his arms, dangling me over the water. I clung to neck, realising he had waded in to almost knee-height.

"Seth! WHAT are you doing?!" I shrieked, holding him tighter.

"Going swimming!" He laughed.

"Don't you-" He dropped me an inch, before catching me again. My breath caught in my throat. I was millimetres from the water. It did _not _look inviting.

Seth looked me in the eye, grinning from ear to ear. "Would I?"

"Quite possibly." I narrowed my eyes at him. To be frank, I was already soaked through from rainwater; I didn't think dropping me in the sea would make much difference.

Seth swung me round and set me on my feet by the water's edge. "Look at you, you're soaking!" He sounded concerned.

"So are you." I pointed out. A peal of thunder echoed overhead and the rain thrashed down heavier.

"You said you didn't want to go inside though."

"I didn't." I admitted.

"Do you want to now?"

I thought about it, weighing up the pros and cons of going inside where it was warm, or staying out here: just Seth and me. I liked not having the others around.

"I'm good." I half-smiled at him. "I like just hanging out with you, without being attacked by five and a half year olds."

Seth didn't laugh, he only looked more concerned. "Are you cold though? We should go inside if you're cold."

"I'm not cold!" But my involuntary shivering gave me away. Damn these human impulses. Seth looked at me a moment, he could tell I was lying, then suddenly he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to his chest.

I held my breath.

"What are you doing?" I whispered, not wanting to ruin this perfect moment, but equally curious as to why he was holding me so close.

"Warming you up." He grinned cheekily at me. It was true: wrapped in his arms, I was warming up pretty quickly. His body was insanely hot and the warmth was seeping through his wet clothes to me. I stopped shivering.

"You're boiling!" I exclaimed, "How is that possible?"

"Abnormal body temperature." Seth seemed reluctant to talk about it.

"But how-" Before I could finish, Seth suddenly leaned down, pressing his hot lips to mine. My first instinct was to struggle and push away, but somehow my body moulded with his so perfectly that instead my eyes closed and I kissed him back.

If this were heaven, I would happily die now.

His hands curled round my back sending those little electric shocks down my spine. Everything else melted away: the rain, the cold, the damp, everything. It was just him and me, alone in the world and I never wanted to pull away.

Eventually he did, though his hands still stayed clasped tightly around my back. Looking me in the eye he pulled his wicked little half-smile and said "Well that shut you up."

I said nothing. There was nothing to say. Instead I wrapped my arms round his neck and pulled his face down towards mine again, letting our lips crash in a symphony of sparks. He lifted me up, pulling me up to head height. I wrapped my legs round his waist and he placed a hand under my bum to support me, the other arm firmly round me shoulders.

He kissed me; rain trickling down both our necks; two worlds colliding into one.

And it was the most romantic thing in the world.

* * *

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	4. Chapter Four: Furry Little Secret

**And so, the next chapter has arrived! Thank you all again for the amazing reviews! I'm so glad you like this story :) Seth's such a cutie, isn't he? :)**

**This chapter was a fun one to write. I hope it's as fun to read!**

* * *

_Seth Clearwater_

I was surprised at how quickly Krista and I became known as 'an item'. I liked it though, calling her 'my girlfriend' made her seem to belong to me; made her seem mine.

Since the weekend at the beach, Kris and I spent pretty much every waking moment together. I began to understand why Quil never got sick of Claire and why Jake was never far from Nessie. Being away from Kris was like being split in two and leaving half of you behind. I guess in a way that's nice: knowing that half of you would always be with her, but at the same time it's agony.

I was playing it cool though. I mean, I hadn't told her about the whole werewolf/shapeshifter/vampire thing. I knew I was going to have to at some point, but I was dreading the moment. Kris is amazing, sweet, funny, lovely but… she has a temper and I wasn't sure how well she'd take the whole 'magic' thing. I especially wasn't going to tell her about imprinting, not yet. I didn't want to scare her off and I was pretty sure telling her '_oh yeah. I'm actually, completely, 100% in love with you and you'll be spending the rest of your life with me' _would send her running.

I knew I'd have to do it sometime, but right now things were so _perfect_, I didn't want to spoil them.

"Seth!" Kris came bounding up to me after French, holding something small and furry in her hands. I wrinkled up my nose as she approached.

"Krissy, what on earth _is _that?" The small furry thing moved.

"Seth meet Dobby. Dobby meet Seth." She held up her hands close to me face, I pulled away.

"What is it, Kris?!"

"It's a hamster!" Kris looked a little put out. She held 'Dobby' up to her face, smiling at it fondly. "It's the geography class hamster."

"Aren't we a little old to have class pets?"

She stuck her tongue out at me. "I love hamsters. This one's named after the house-elf in Harry Potter. And yes, maybe we are a little old, but our geography teacher's slightly eccentric and she's had Dobby for a while." She cooed at the tiny creature, petting its head with her little finger.

"Explain to me why it's in your hands and not in its cage?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Mrs Graham lost it." Krista explained. "I found it munching on some wires in the IT room. Poor little thing could've electrocuted itself." She cooed at it some more. I rolled my eyes. Seriously, I'm cuter than that thing when I'm all furry and fuzzy, but I bet she won't coo and pet me like that.

"Well why don't we go return it?" I said, eager to get to lunch. Kris glared at me.

"Well, that's what I was _doing _before I thought I'd bring him to show to you. But obviously you're not as excited as I am so I won't bother next time."

"It's a _hamster." _I pointed out. "Not a golden ticket. Can we _please _go put it back so we can go to lunch?"

Kris shoved me with her free hand. "Fine. Go eat. I'll go return it and meet you there." She sounded pretty grumpy. With a sigh I draped my arm round her shoulders, rolling my eyes.

"Okay, okay. Lets go return the little monster." Kris beamed at me. Seriously, who'da thought she'd go all soppy over a hamster.

Mrs Graham (who's half blind and nearly deaf too) was ecstatic on the return of - I can hardly bring myself to say the name - _Dobby._ She thanked us over and over, even though I kept pointing out that it had nothing to do with me. She gave us a toffee each from her draw (how old does she think we are? Three?) and put Dobby back in his cage. I have to say, Kris looked a little sad to let him go.

"Cheer up. Lunch time!" I said, nudging her shoulder as we left the classroom. Kris rolled her eyes at me.

"Do you only ever think about your stomach?"

"No, I think about you too." I winked at her. She blushed. "Sometimes." I added.

She cuffed me playfully round the head. "Watch it you."

The canteen was bustling when we got there. Stomach rumbling as always, I piled as much hot food as I could onto my tiny school plate and joined the guys at our usual table. Kris joined us shortly afterwards with her usual rabbit food.

"Wow, Kris. That looks delicious." Sarcasm dripped off Embry's tongue (and the Brits say us Americans never get irony. Tch).

Kris gave Embry a dark look before reaching over and stealing a fry from his plate, shoving it into her mouth. "Mmm, and your food _tastes _delicious too, Em. Cheers!"

I snorted into my meal as Embry looked disbelievingly at Kris. Jacob too gave Kris a disbelieving look, but it was more a look of awe.

"Nicely done my friend." Quil patted her on the back. "Not many have stolen food from Embry Call and lived to tell the tale."

"Yeah, well she might not 'live' for much longer." Muttered Embry bitterly. I snarled at him. Kris looked a little shocked at me.

Sometimes I forget that she doesn't realise how I feel. Sometimes I let my emotions get control of me, and that causes sudden outbursts: snarling at Embry's jokey threat, the hair rising on the back of my neck when any other boy (even Quil) ever touches Kris. For me, the reactions seem natural. She's _my_ imprint, _my_ soul mate, _my_ property. But I forget that she doesn't know any of this. To her, we're just a couple: two people that like each other enough to go out. So I have to keep my behaviour normal. But for me, it's so, _so_ much more. I wish I could tell her that sometimes.

"So what's the plan for the weekend?" I changed the subject. Kris was still giving me a funny look after my snarl-attack.

"Beach?" Suggested Embry. Everyone groaned.

"Can't we do something new? We did that two weekends ago!" Jacob complained.

"We do it every weekend." Pointed out Quil. He had a point. The beach was the Quileute Tribe hotspot. If you ever want to find a shape shifter, one of them is always likely to be at the beach.

"Well what else do you do for fun around here?" Kris quizzed the table. It was a good question. She had only been at school three weeks and so far we'd shown her the beach, the beach and… oh yeah… the beach.

"There's a little cinema in Forks." Quil suggested. "We could catch a movie?"

Kris made a face. "Seeing a film with a bunch of boys? I can tell what sort of film that would be. Blood, guts and gore-"

"AHHH! MY EYE!" Embry screamed, stabbing his eye with a fork and squirting ketchup at his face at the same time. Kris covered her mouth and clung to my arm. I kissed her forehead to comfort her.

"Cut it out Em, you big show-off." Jacob punched Embry in the arm.

"Aw c'mon! It was funny! I was proving a point!"

"Yeah," Kris rolled her eyes. "Proving that going to the cinema would be a _bad _choice."

"Well I'm seeing Nessie this weekend anyway." Jacob shrugged, shovelling food into his mouth.

"Mmm, same here with Claire."

Embry winked at me. "Looks like it's just us three then."

Kris groaned beside me. "Uhh, actually Quil, Kris is coming to mine this weekend."

"She is?"

"I am?"

"She is." I nodded my head, decisively. Now she was, anyway.

Kris smiled at me. "Sounds good." Then she wrinkled up her nose, frown lines appearing on her forehead. "Will your sister be there?"

"Most likely."

"Ugh." Kris looked a little downcast. My heartstrings tugged. "She hates me."

"No, no, no!" I hastened to comfort her, stroking her hair. "She doesn't hate you."

"Yes she does." Embry, always unhelpful. "She hates everyone. She's a bitter old harpy."

"You know she'll know you said that." I pointed out to Embry. "No secrets."

Embry groaned. Kris looked suspicious. "You rat on your friends?"

"No-o." Shoot. How do I get out of this one? Stupid Seth! Keep slipping up and you'll end up explaining the whole 'werewolf-mind-reading-thing' a lot sooner than you planned. "But Leah's real good at getting things out of people. Plus Jacob tells her everything." I looked at Jacob for support. He glared at me.

"Yeah…" He muttered, grimacing. "Because me and Leah are _so _close."

It was a pretty poor effort, but I think Kris bought it. She let it drop anyway, standing up to clear her tray. The rest of us followed suit.

The end of the day came quicker than expected. I kissed Krista goodbye by her truck before joining the rest of the pack by the trees.

We changed quickly, tying our clothes onto our legs then phasing to travel home. The moment I phased, Jacob started lecturing me.

'_I tell Leah everything?' Oh come ON Seth. That's bull and you know it._

_How else was I meant to bat that one off? I'm sorry Jake. _I whined. _I made a mistake and she picked up on it._

_You're doing a lot of that. _Quil pointed out, relaying all the times in the last two weeks I'd nearly let our secret slip. _You're gonna have to tell her soon, man._

_Yeah, the sooner the better. _Jacob was enthusiastic.

_Ugh! But it's so complicated! How do I explain it all without her running a mile?_

_Simple, man. You just corner her, phase, and then wait for her to come round. _Embry was unhelpful as always.

_Seriously though, Seth. You have _got _to tell her this weekend._

_THIS WEEKEND? _I yelped.

_Yep. Sorry dude. No other way. Better she hears it all now. _Quil's advice was sound, but I didn't want to hear it.

_No way, man. I can't do it. The weekend's only two days away! _I howled miserably. _What if she freaks out and never wants to see me again?_

_She won't. You're soul mates. _Quil tried to reconcile me.

_But what if it all goes horribly wrong and I hurt her or something?_

_Then you're screwed. _Embry guffawed in my head. I snarled at him.

Quil intervened. _Look, Seth. I'll just reiterate since this doesn't seem to be getting through your thick skull: You. Are. Soul. Mates: Meant to be. For better or worse. That kinda thing. It'll sort itself out, just tell her the truth._

I nodded, still unsure. Quil made sense but… I didn't want to take any risks when things were so perfect.

_Kim's still with Jared, and he had to explain it all to her. _Jacob pointed out.

_And Emilie's still here. _Quipped in Embry. _And she's been through the mill with Sam and Leah. If anyone was gonna scarper, it'd been her. _

Comforted I nodded. I guess I was just going to have to bite the bullet and tell her. This weekend.

The thought still made me shudder.

How was I going to go about it? Should I explain, then phase to prove my point? Or just phase straight away and do the explaining later. What if she didn't want to see the proof after I explain the whole thing? Or what if she didn't want to hear the explanation if I phased first?

_Dude! Chill! Your brain's like an episode of 'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire': full of questions! _Embry snorted, shaking his head, trying to rid it of the thoughts.

We arrived at Emilie's house and everyone phased quickly, eager to stop listening to my whining questions. I was just so worried!

"Look, Dude. If you're really that scared then don't do it. But you're gonna have to at some point, so I really think you might as well do it now. Sooner the better." Jacob patted my shoulder as we walked the final stroll to Emilie's.

Quil raised two fingers to his temple, then flicked them at me in mock-salute. "Remember: soul mates."

I nodded.

Soul mates.

**-------------------------------**

The weekend came too quickly. Before I knew it, Kris was sitting next to me on my bed, admiring my room.

"Nice place." She murmured in her soft voice. It still sent shivers up my spine. "It's very you."

I looked at the posters of various bands and things on my walls and blushed, embarrassed. I didn't spend much time in my room and I hadn't re-decorated since I'd phased for the first time. The whole room seemed kinda childish.

"Umm, It's not really me, I mean… I haven't changed it in ages. I don't really…" I pointed at the posters. "I don't really listen to this music any more."

"I didn't mean that." Kris laughed: the sound of wind chimes. "I meant the whole feel of it. It's cosy, warm, nice." She blushed fervently and looked down. I grinned; feeling more relaxed.

"So what sort of music _do_ you listen to now?" She changed the subject.

"Oh, I dunno. Whatever's on the radio." I hoped she wouldn't ask any more questions. Truth be told, I had no idea what was playing on the radio. It was only background music. I didn't really like music. Not that sort anyway. Spending too much time with Edward: his tastes start to rub off on you. I hoped to God she wouldn't look in my CD player. Debussy doesn't do a lot for my street cred.

Kris was silent.

"Do you have a dog?" She asked suddenly. Shoot. I could feel it coming: the explanation. The reason behind all the 'inside jokes' and mysterious looks. I'd have to tell her pretty soon.

"No." I was pretty sure my voice had risen an octave. "Why?

"Oh." She looked a little confused. "Well I don't know what you keep in here Seth-o, but it smells a bit doggish."

I laughed with her, but it was a hollow, empty sound. My stomach churned. It was time.

"Kris-" I started, but before I could get any further, Krista had leaned towards me, pressing her lips to mine. As always when we touched, my mind turned to goo and everything disappeared except the burning, yearning need for her completely and utterly. I pulled her towards me, lying down on the bed.

She sat atop of me, a leg either side of my waist. Her chest rose and fell in jagged breaths as our faces pressed together in an explosion of emotions.

_Concentrate Seth! _My rational mind screamed. _You were going to tell her! You HAVE to tell her!_

"Go away." I moaned at my conscience. Kris pulled away, looking at me oddly.

"Excuse me?"

Crap! I'd spoken out loud. I sat up, pulling her body towards mine, kissing her over and over. "No, no, no." I crooned. "I wasn't talking to you. I… errr…"

Kris pulled away again, laughing this time. "And Leah thinks _I'm _the strange one."

I bit my lip.

"Seth?" Kris looked at me, her brow furrowed and her eyes wide with worry. "Seth-o? What is it?"

I sighed. This was it. "Krissy. I have to tell you something."

She fell silent. Her legs were still wound my waist and her body was almost pressed up against mine, but the inch gap between us seemed a mile wide.

"What is it?" She breathed, pulling further away from me.

I'd been over this moment a thousand times since my chat with Jake, Quil and Embry, but now, as it came to the crunch… I had no idea what to say.

"Kris, have you ever heard the stories told about the Quileute Tribe?"

"Tribe? There's a tribe?" So that's a no then. "Quil said the name Quileute was something to do with Jacob's family."

I nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, it does." I paused, so she hadn't even heard the legends. This was going to be even harder.

"Krissy…" I started again. How on _earth _was I going to phrase this? Kris' whole face mirrored my worry. She put a hand on my cheek.

"Seth, what's wrong. I don't understand."

My voice came out in a choked whisper. I realised how ridiculous this would sound. "Do you believe in magic Kris?"

She stared at me before collapsing on the bed next to me, laughing.

"Jesus Christ, Seth!" She stuttered out between laughter. "You scared the living daylights out of me! I thought something was seriously wrong." I smiled at her sadly as her laughter subsided. She tried to recompose herself, but she was still grinning as she looked up. My expression wiped all trace of humour from her face. Instead she just looked incredulous. "You're being _serious?"_

I nodded, miserably. "Kris, the world isn't how you think it is."

Krista clicked her fingers in front of me. "Snap out of it Seth. You're being ridiculous. Maybe we should go for a walk or something; get some air."

I grabbed her by the wrists. "Krista! Listen to me!" I used her full name to get her attention. "You don't understand! I'm not who you think I am."

"Stop it!" She spat out the words, pulling away from me. "Stop it! Is this a joke? It's not funny!"

I groaned, putting my head in my hands. Why was this so hard? She was going to run, for sure.

"Please listen to me."

"Only if you're going to stop talking gibberish." She scowled at me. God she's so pretty even when she scowls.

I realised there was no other way. I couldn't get the words out. I was going to have to show her.

"Come with me." I held out my hand, praying she'd take it. She did without a moment's hesitation.

I took her downstairs, past Leah watching TV, outside and into the trees surrounding our garden. Kris stayed thankfully silent. After a minute or so of walking I stopped.

I turned to face Kris. "I need you to do something for me." I asked.

"Anything." She whispered, and I was surprised at the sureness and sincerity in her voice.

"First, I need you to imagine that magic exists, that things aren't how you thought they were. Second I need you to promise me you'll hear me out, and not run away. Promise me?"

Kris looked at me, tilting her head to the side so that her hair caught in the sunlight. For a terrible second I thought she was going to shake her head. "It's strange." She said finally. "I never took you for a madman."

"Please Krissy." I begged, I pleaded. "Please promise me. I'm not mad, I just need to know you're not going to run away."

"Run away?" Kris spoke as if she'd heard the words for the first time. "Why would I-"

"Promise me!" I pressed my forehead to hers. This could be the last human contact I ever got with her.

"I promise." She choked. I kissed her briefly. This was it. She would scarper.

"Stand back." I moved a safe distance from her and began to undress. Kris blushed and looked away. I wasn't surprised to see she was shaking. Leaving my underwear on, I stood still and felt the heat inside of me, drawing it together so I could phase.

And then I was on all fours, thick hair all over my enormous body.

Krista stood very still, eyes wide in shock, trembling all over. I hated myself for putting her through this, but she _had _to know.

She stuck to her word: she didn't run, she didn't scream, she didn't even blink. She just stood and stared.

I whined and took a step towards her. She stayed stock-still.

"Seth?" I nodded enthusiastically, hoping and _praying _she didn't bolt. "You… you're a…" She trailed off. I took another step forward. _Go on… say it. _"You're a wolf."

I huffed. _Half right. I'm a werewolf. WEREwolf. _I wished she could hear me.

"A werewolf?" Score! I nodded again, shuffling forward a few more steps, keeping calm, trying not to scare her off. "Oh god." Her knees gave way and she knelt down on the mossy floor. I lay down in front of Kris, trying to stay at head height, scared that looming over her would frighten her away.

"Well this is…" She seemed at a complete loss. She pushed her hair out of her eyes, staring at me the whole time. "Seriously, Seth? A werewolf? As in, human by day, wolf by n-" She stopped short, looking up at the sky. "Not by night then."

I nudged her knee with my nose, using my big glassy eyes to their full potential. It worked: she softened. Her wide-eyed, frightened features rearranged themselves into a more bewildered half-smile. Maybe she thought she was dreaming.

"You know Seth, you might've warned me. I nearly had a heart attack just now, then you would've been girlfriend-less." I yelped my apology. She narrowed her eyes at me. "You do realise how surreal this is, right? I'm talking to a dog."

She hadn't run! She hadn't run away! She'd stayed and she was talking to me almost like normal. I was so happy I could've kissed her, but still in my wolf form I had to settle for a big, loving lick instead.

Laughing she pushed me away. "Gerrof! Ugh. You big beast you." She ruffled my fur and I wagged my tail. "You're just as lovable as a dog as you are human you know Seth-o."

This was possibly the happiest I'd ever been. She'd done it! My wonderful, amazing Krista had stayed with me and gotten over the weirdness. Obviously there was still a lot of explaining to do, but the hard part was over.

She ruffled my fur some more. "Y'know, I think I prefer you like this. Means I can talk to you without you interrupting me or anything." I snorted through my nostrils, tail still wagging. I wanted to phase back, talk to her properly, but to do that I'd have to go change.

I stood up, a good four feet taller than her when she was sitting down. Fear spread over her features for a second, before they were replaced with confusion.

"Where are you going?"

I couldn't explain my need to go change so instead I just whined and picked up my clothes with my teeth. She made as if to follow me, but I just whined again, shaking my head.

"You want me to stay?" She looked so sad. "But…"

_I'll be back!!! _I screamed in my head. _I promise! I'll just be gone a second!!!_

But of course she couldn't hear me.

I ran behind the trees quickly, phasing and pulling on pants. My underwear had been ripped to shreds so I was going commando. I couldn't even be bothered to put a shirt on; such was my haste to get back to Kris.

I burst into the clearing, looking wildly around. "Kris?"

A voice came from my left. "Don't worry, I haven't scarpered yet, wolf-boy."

I sighed with relief, rushing to her. "I was afraid maybe…"

She cut me off "Yeah well. I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself. _One _chance." I could tell she was pretty shaken by the entire experience. The sarcastic humour was a defence. I knew that much about her.

"Do you want to go back inside?" I thought a more familiar setting would soothe her a little.

She shook her head. "No. Explanations first."

I sighed, kicking the ground with my toe. Where to start? Suddenly, Kris pushed me roughly. "Look, Mr Silent! You can't just turn yourself into a wolf the size of a bloody horse and get away with it! You have some serious explaining to do!"

Suddenly I laughed. This just made her even more furious. She stamped her foot angrily, glaring at me through narrowed eyes, which just made her more comical than ever.

"What's so funny?" She fumed.

"You!" I replied, laughing harder. "I thought that you'd scream, or run away in fright, but instead you… well you get angry at me!" How very like her.

Kris opened her mouth to say something but I cut her off, pressing my mouth to hers firmly. For another awful second I thought she was going to push me away; tell me that the whole ordeal was too much, but slowly her arms slunk over my shoulders and she kissed me back.

After a minute, she pulled away. "Fine." She said. "So you're a freaky wolf boy. But I'm guessing you're not the only one."

"No." I admitted. "There's a pack of us. Me, Quil, Sam, Jacob, Embry, Jared, Colin, Brady… we all are. Even Leah."

"Leah too?" Her eyes widened. "All werewolves?"

"Technically, we're shape shifters." I sighed heavily. "Kris, there's actually a lot more to all this. There's so much I have to tell you. We have rules and packs. Enemies…"

"You're not going to bite me are you?" She pulled away from me, half joking but still a little afraid. "Turn me into one of you to be your little, furry mate."

I chuckled, pulling her closer. "It doesn't work like that. Becoming a werewolf isn't something you can catch like a disease. It doesn't originate from venom. It's a genetic thing. You're born with it."

"So you've always been like this?"

"No." I admitted. "I first phased when I was fourteen."

"Phased?"

"Changed into a wolf."

"Oh."

Silence.

"What's it like?" She sounded more curious than afraid.

"It's like… a heat inside you. It builds up and then… you explode. You usually first phase when you're angry."

Kris nodded. "Heat. Makes sense why you're all so hot all the time."

I stroked her hair. "Exactly! Kris, you're amazing at accepting all this. I thought it was going to be all so much harder!"

"Wonder woman, that's me." Kris muttered under her breath. I chuckled.

"Come on." I pulled at her hand. "Lets go somewhere we can sit and talk."

I took her back to the house and into the kitchen. I decided to fix us up something to eat, show her how normal I still was, though she didn't seem at all shook up any more. Pouring her a drink I sat across the table from her.

"Tell me everything." She said calmly.

And so I did. I told her how Jacob was our Alpha and that we answered solely to him. But that some of the others were in Sam's pack and he was their alpha. I told her how when we were all in wolf-form, we could hear each other's thoughts, though only if we were in the same pack. I explained how we all had this super-human strength and incredible body heat that made us hotter than everyone else. I told her how we have to eat more, how we heal super fast and how we don't age until we stop phasing for a long period of time.

"You don't age?" She asked. "So how old are you?"

"Eighteen." I replied truthfully. I phased at fourteen but when you phase you immediately look about ten years older." I laughed. "I've looked the same for four years now."

"Wow." Was all she could say. I gazed at her adoringly. Quil was so right when he said this would work out. But now was the tricky part.

"I know this is all a bit weird, but if you can handle it, there is more." I hedged my bets. I could tell her about the rest later if she needed a break from all this super natural mumbo jumbo.

But she stubbornly shook her head. "Who do you take me for Seth? 'Course I can handle it!"

I smiled at her. "I know." I said, and I truly believed it.

I started to explain about the reason we came into existence. I explained that the first Alpha was Ephraim Black - Jacob's ancestor – and how we came into existence as a form of protection from the cold-ones.

"Cold-ones?"

"Vampires." I half expected Kris to laugh, but I think we were past that stage.

"Vampires?" She repeated. "Here? In La Push?"

I shook my head. "No. Not here. There's a family of them living up in Forks, but they're not the evil, blood sucky kind. They're… vegetarian."

"Vampires that don't suck blood." Kris mused. "I'm guessing the whole Vamp thing is genetic too, right?"

"No. That _is _a venom thing. You have to be bitten to become one. But it's a slow, painful process. Plus you smell afterwards."

Kris obviously ignored my last comment. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up. So there are werewolves to protect humans from the vampires that don't suck blood?"

"Sort of." I explained the treaty that Ephraim made with the Cullens when they first arrived.

"The Cullens are our friends. You can meet them."

Kris immediately shook her head. "No. No way. Werewolves are quite enough for me. No Vampires."

That was fair. I nodded, realising that the food I'd microwaved had gone cold. I ate it anyway, more interested in Kris' reaction to this all.

"Why?" Kris suddenly broke into my reverie. I stared at her, confused.

"Why, what?"

"Why do you have to tell me all this? I mean; I'm just your girlfriend. We've been dating, what, two weeks? You could have kept all this secret. Why did you tell me?"

"Because…" Without telling her about imprinting (which I totally didn't want to do…just yet), I couldn't really think of a reason why. "Because I trust you." I finished lamely.

She narrowed her eyes at me. Sheesh! No one told me lying to your imprint would be this hard. I swear she sees right through me!

"Thanks." She said finally. "For trusting me."

I beamed, genuinely happy. "And you've just accepted all this? Like that? Without a blink?"

She raised her eyebrows at me. "Well, this'll take time to sink in you realise. This is like someone turning round and saying 'you know, Hogwarts actually exists and you're dating Harry Potter'." I laughed, getting up from my chair and walking over to where Kris was seated.

Then I nearly blew it. The three words I longed to say. I almost said them right out and ruined everything. But I managed to compose myself, pulling her up into a hug instead.

"You can't tell anyone about this though?" I whispered. "My mum knows, obviously. And so does the family of all the wolves. But you can't tell anyone else. Ever."

"I won't." She whispered back, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "It'll be our furry little secret."

* * *

**Soooo? What did you think? I kind of assumed that werewolves are allowed to reveal their secret to their imprint, rather than having to make them guess it, like Bella had to. Reviews? Pretty Please?**


	5. Chapter Five: Bikes, Kisses and Tears

**Hello all my lovely readers! I'm so glad you all like this. Seth is the best. A quick note for anyone who likes Seth imprint fics: go read 'I found her on the freeway' by lostmidtranslation. It's awesome (way better than this in fact :p) and has another british female heroine :)**

**Anyway, this chapter's mainly filler, but has a sad ending. This, and the next chapter is actually as far as I've got, so updates might be a bit slower afterwards.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing's mine. All hail Stephanie Meyer**

* * *

_Krista Hughes_

It's hard to act normal when you find out your boyfriend spends most of his time on all fours, covered in fur. And I know that I'm usually pretty modest, but seriously, I think I handled the whole ordeal pretty darn well. Not that I needed reminding of this fact as I had my own personal cheerleader by the name of Seth Clearwater. I'm not even joking! If there were a 'well-done-Kris-for-accepting-werewolves' club, he would be the president.

"I'm still amazed at how easily it all made sense to you!" Seth was talking about it – again – as I leaned on his chest, watching the breeze sift through the autumn leaves in the Clearwater's garden on a crisp Saturday morning.

"Feel free to stop bringing it up at any time." I rolled my eyes, reaching back to poke him in the ribs. I felt Seth's chest rise as he grunted.

"What? Am I not allowed to tell you how amazing you are?" He sounded almost hurt, but I knew if I turned round to look at his face, he'd be grinning.

"Yes, of course. I love eternal praise and worship. But you could at least praise me for something cool, rather than just – 'oh, well done for believing your boyfriend'." I snorted. Seth sat up, pulling me round into a hug.

"Krissy, you're amazing, fantastic, funny, beautiful, creative, entertaining, smart, sassy…" He punctuated every word with a kiss to my face.

"OK! OK!" I giggled, pushing him off me. "I get it! Enough praise, enough!"

The funny thing was, he spoke like he meant every word.

Settling back down into our previous positions, I reverted to watching the leaves again. The blazing autumn colours made every tree look like a beacon of fire. The inner child in me longed to put my wellies on and jump in the leaf piles.

"You cold?" Seth broke my reverie.

I shook my head. "With you around? No way."

Seth sighed impatiently, making my head rise and fall on his enormous chest. "What?" I asked, twisting round to rest my chin on his stomach so I could see his face.

"Bored." Seth replied.

"Sorry my company is so dull…" Before I could finish, Seth swept me into an embrace, showering me with kisses and praise.

"No, no, no! You're not boring. You're never boring! How could you th…"

I laughed, pushing him off me once more, though secretly loving every minute. I stood up, jumping out of his grasp. "Alright then Seth-o. Let's find something to do."

Seth frowned at me. "Like what?"

"I dunno." I rolled my eyes. "You can't be telling me there is _nothing _to do in the whole of La Push?"

Seth's forehead wrinkled up in concentration as he tried to come up with something. He looked so cute I couldn't help bending down to cuddle him, although _cute _is hardly the word to describe an eighteen year old werewolf.

It wasn't so hard to keep my 'furry little secret' from the kids at school, since I didn't really hang out with anyone except Seth and the gang. I kinda got on with a girl in my French class called Summer, but if I really wanted female company I preferred to hang out with Kim, Rachael and Emilie. I still wasn't really on friendly terms with Leah yet.

I spent pretty much all of my time outside of school with the Quileute kids. After school we all went back to Emilie's – me usually riding on Seth's back as he ran in wolf form, much to my horror – where the boys all ate their own body weight in Emilie's fantastic cooking and I played with Claire or chatted with Em, Kim and Rachael.

By now, I'd introduced Seth to my mother and, to my surprise, she approved of him entirely. Although the conversation we had about him still made me cringe:

"Oh Kiki! That Seb-"

"Seth, mother. His name is Seth."

"Yes, Seth! Oh, he's so… hunky!"

"Ugh! Mum, no one says 'hunky' any more."

"Sorry Kiki. What _do_ you say then? Is he 'hot-stuff'? A 'buff-thing'?"

I groaned. "_Please _mother!"

"Honey, I _am _down with the lingo. I do read 'Heat'!"*

"Mum, the mere fact that you said 'down with the lingo', completely proves my point."

It had gotten worse though, because then came _the _talk.

Mum had sat down beside me at the kitchen table, taking both my hands in her own manicured ones. "Now you know, Kiki, that you always have to be safe."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm talking about contraception, honey. Condoms. When you decide to… well… have s-"

I snatched my hands out of her grip, clamping them firmly over my ears before she could say any more.

"LALALALALA! I'm not listening! LALALALA!"

The noise was shortly followed by the slamming of my bedroom door.

The actual meeting between Seth and my mother had gone quite smoothly. He had been super polite and completely charmed the pants off her. In fact she was so taken with him I was afraid she was going to steal him altogether.

She even approved of me spending so much time out of the house. I think it was really any excuse to get me gone so she could watch her box set of _Desperate Housewives_. And as far as I'm concerned, the less time I had to spend in that hovel the better. I practically lived at Seth's, although the 'staying over' part was one battle yet to be won. Seth's mum was a wonder though. When I first met her, she insisted on me calling her Sue and seemed to get very teary eyed whenever anything wedding or baby related was mentioned, like we were already engaged. It was a tad odd, but other than that, she welcomed me like a second daughter (much to Leah's disgust).

But now, lying in the Clearwater's garden, on a chilly October morning… well, our entertainment source was running dry. Quil was looking after Claire (again), Jacob was up at the Cullen's with Nessie, Paul and Rachael were at Billy's, Jared and Kim had gone to see a film in Port Angeles and Sam and Emilie were having 'alone time'. That just left us with Embry or Leah. Great.

"We could go see what Jake's doing?" Seth stood up, pulling me to my feet. I made a face.

"He's at Nessie's. He told us that yesterday."

"Oh yeah." Seth fell silent again, his face still contorted in concentration. "Well, maybe we could go over there, you can meet Bella and Ed-"

"No." I said firmly. "No vampires. Not yet. I'm still getting used to the whole werewolf thing."

Seth pulled me into a hug. "Of course. Sorry. I forget you're all new to this. It just seems like you've been around for…well… forever! You've been so good-"

I cut him off, cupping my hand over his mouth. "If you tell me how well I accepted the whole werewolf thing one more time, I swear I'll just go and have a heart attack, just to spite you."

Seth laughed, pushing my hand away from his mouth so he could kiss me. The electric feeling pulsed through my body as our lips made contact. I swear, every time he kisses me, it feels like he's kissing me for the first time.

It's times like these that I remember I'm the luckiest girl on the planet.

We walked round to the front of the house, hand in hand. Seth was jabbering about some homework assignment he hadn't done but I had completely zoned out. My eyes suddenly honed in on a flash of black leaning by the front door.

Jacob's bike.

"Seth?" I tugged on his hand, grabbing his attention. He glanced down at me.

"What?"

I looked pointedly at Jacob's bike. Seth's eyes widened.

"No. No way. Absolutely not. No."

I pulled my best puppy dog eyes at him, biting my lower lip. "Please Seth? Ple-e-e-e-ase? I've _always _wanted to ride a motorbike. I wouldn't go very fast, and you could sit behind, or in front. I don't mind. Or you could run along side in your furry-form… catch me if I fall!"

Seth just continued shaking his head. "No way Krissy. I'm not letting you on that thing. It's a death trap! Besides, Jacob would kill me if I let you ride it. That thing is his baby!"

I continued to pull my forlorn-lost-puppy face. It usually broke him eventually. Seth groaned. "Please Kris. Don't pull that face. You know I'd do anything to make you happy, but this… it's dangerous! What if you got hurt?"

"I wouldn't! Come on Seth-o, you're a werewolf! You've spent the last week telling me how dangerous werewolves and vampires are and now you're scared of a little bike?"

"Werewolves and vampires I can protect you from. Motorcycle crashes I can't." Seth was pleading now. "Please stop asking Krissy, because you know I'll cave in the end."

I huffed. "What if we asked Jacob to come show me how to ride it?"

Seth thought for a moment. "He does have a spare in the garage…" He trailed off, eyes staring into nothing. "He could teach you properly." Seth suddenly stared at me. "You'd have to wear a helmet, at all times." I gave him my puppy-face one last time. "Oh alright!" He caved.

Bingo.

"I'll ask Jake tonight, then tomorrow morning he can give us a sesh. Sound good?"

I was literally bouncing with excitement. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I leaped into Seth's arms to kiss him. "You're amazing and wonderful and the best boyfriend ever."

"Mmmm." Seth grumbled. "Only because you know I'm wrapped around your finger."

I laughed as I kissed his face over and over, but the truth was, the same could be said of me. If Seth told me to jump into a fire, I would trust him and leap without hesitation.

Scary really.

**------------------------**

The next day I woke up bright and early, excited about my first time on a motorbike. I hadn't told my mother, naturally. She would freak out.

Dad used to have a motorbike: a huge, shiny, blue one. I was never allowed to ride it of course. I mean, when he still had it, I wasn't even tall enough to reach the seat. But I loved it. Dad used to sit me on it when it was in the garage and I would pretend I was travelling around the world: just him and me off on an adventure. Mum caught us at it one day though and she completely did her nut. I remember her screaming at Dad that allowing me to sit on it, even when it was at a standstill and turned off, would be a bad influence. She made him sell it, and she forbade me from ever going near a motorbike. Ever. These sorts of memories make me wonder why my Dad stayed with my mother so long. All things considered, it's not really surprising that they got divorced.

Of course, the whole bike incident had just made me want to ride one more. It was on my list of 'things-to-do-before-I-die'. Funny how most of the things that appear on that list, are also on my list of 'things-I-should-never-tell-my-mother'.

Dating a mythological creature had never featured on either list.

At around nine I hopped out of bed, jumping into the shower and letting the hot water cascade down my back. I dressed super quickly, drying my hair and pulling on my wellington boots. I left a note for my mum (not mentioning the motorbikes of course) and jumped into my van, heading towards La Push.

Seth was waiting for me with Jacob outside Billy's house. I parked Vera by the drive and hopped out, landing in Seth's awaiting hug.

"Hey Kris. Ready for some motor-action?" Jake chuckled from beside Seth. I beamed.

"You bet!"

Seth frowned, gripping me by the shoulders. "Now, you can still back out. There's no reason you're obliged to do anything. If you've changed your mind-"

I interrupted him. "Where are the bikes?"

Jacob grinned, roguishly, stepping aside to reveal his gorgeous black motorcycle and a tattered, yet shiny red one beside it. I gasped.

"Oh Jake!" I rushed to the biked, caressing their handlebars. "They're beautiful!" Jacob's deep, reverberating laugh echoed round the glade.

"Glad you like them." He put his hand on the red one. "This one's for you. It used to belong to Bella but… well… she doesn't need it any more."

"Bella?" I questioned, the name familiar. "Bella Cullen? The vampire?"

Jacob nodded. "Yep. She and I were friends, back when she was still human." I raised my eyebrows.

"You mean… she used to live here? As a human? Before…" Seth interrupted me by putting a hand on my shoulder.

"We can discuss the Cullen family tree later. Now are we going to ride, or not?" There was a sparkling excitement in Seth's eyes that wasn't there before. I shoved him playfully.

"I thought you were against the whole idea?"

"I was." He chuckled, shoving me back. "But there seems to be no stopping you so I figured, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

I hugged him, barely containing my own excitement. Seth gave me one last look of disapproval. "Promise me you'll be sensible though Kris? No rash actions."

I waved his worries away with an impatient hand. "Yes, yes, yes. I promise. Now come ON!" I pulled him towards the bikes. "How do they work?"

Jacob laughed again, steering me towards his own bike. "Right, now the lever on the left handlebar is the clutch. The throttle is the right hand grip and the lever over it is your brake. The gearshift is here." He pointed "And there's another brake behind your right foot, but don't worry about that one. I had it disconnected…" He suddenly stopped, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes and exhaling loudly. I narrowed my eyes, concerned.

"You okay?" I asked him. He looked a little sad, staring off into the distance.

"Yeah…" Jacob didn't look at me, but carried on staring at nothing. "It's just… this is all so familiar. I remember… with Bella… before everything." He shook his head roughly, as if expelling whatever images had been invading his head. "A different time." He muttered. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"You sure you're ok? If this is too weird, we don't have to."

"What? No! I'm fine. Seriously. It's cool." Jake grinned at me, his eyes still a little sad. "I just remember teaching Bella to ride these things… years ago. Before I knew I was a werewolf and before… before a lot of things. It just seems like a lifetime ago…" He chuckled sadly. "But I bet you're better at it than she was." He punched me on the shoulder, playfully but it still hurt. "C'mon. Get your butt on that bike!"

I inched towards the red motorbike, looking at Seth nervously. Little butterflies appeared in my stomach. I had been so excited about it all, but now it came down to it… I was a little frightened. I could hardly control my battered old van, let alone a super fast motorcycle. I swung my leg over slowly and settled myself on the bike, gripping the handlebars tightly. Jacob bent down to flick up the stand. I nearly dropped the bike.

"Oof!" It was heavy and the whole machine threatened to topple sideways. Luckily Seth grabbed it from the side and held it upright. "It's heavy!" I exclaimed, surprised. Jacob laughed.

"Well, yeah. 'Course it is. It's a beast." He patted his own bike fondly. "Now, hold down the clutch – the lever on the left – hold it down tightly and don't let go. A grenade spoon is how I described it to Bella. Don't let go of it till I say, ok?"

I nodded nervously.

"Kay, now I'm going to kick start the bike and Seth will hold it steady."

"Wait!" Seth, holding the bike up with one hand, leant back and grabbed the red helmet with his other. "Put this on." He said. I rolled my eyes, but put it on, thankful for the protection. This trip was definitely going to kill me.

"Right, now I'm going to kick-start it." Jacob leaned forward and slammed his foot down on the pedal. The bike roared into life.

"Whoa!" I hollered over the rumbling noise. "This thing is an animal."

Jacob nodded appreciatively. "That's good, you're doing well. Now, release your hand on the clutch a little… just a tiny amount. And remember where the break is. You should go forward slowly if you only release it a tiny bit.

I bit my lip; glad the others couldn't see how nervous I was under the helmet. I let go of the clutch a little and the bike jerked forwards. I was suddenly very grateful that Seth was behind me holding the bike upright.

"That's great Kris!" Jacob called from behind me. "Now let a bit more go."

I did so and the bike moved forward faster. Seth started jogging alongside it, holding the bike. This wasn't so hard. A boost of confidence caused me to let go of the clutch altogether and the bike shot forward. Seth let go and was left trailing behind as the bike zoomed forward. The feeling was incredible. I was suddenly glad that the long dirt track I was following was completely straight. I wasn't sure I knew how to turn. I heard a roar of a second bike accelerate behind me and I knew that Jacob was catching me up. Grinning I decided to twist the throttle a little. The bike raced forward at an incredible speed.

Suddenly a large, hairy beast appeared next to me. Seth had obviously phased and was now running alongside me, worry etched across his furry face. I would've given him the thumbs up sign except I was too worried of letting go of the handlebars. I looked forward again and my heart suddenly leapt into my mouth. The dirt track disappeared in front of me, bending off to the left. Crap. I had no idea how to turn the roaring monster beneath me.

Where were the breaks? The lever on the left? No, that was the clutch, I'd let go of that long ago. Must be the right lever. I grabbed it, squeezing it tightly. The bike shuddered beneath me, grinding to a sudden halt. Unfortunately, the weight of it as it stopped caused it to topple sideways, throwing me from it. I crashed into Seth, his furry body breaking my fall as the bike fell onto its side, spinning on the dirt road.

I heard Jacob's bike shudder to a halt as he rushed over to check me over. I lay, eyes closed, sprawled beside Seth's wolf body.

"Krista! Kris, are you ok?" Jacob pulled off my helmet as I opened my eyes, groaning. I heard Seth beside me whine pitifully. Jacob looked me in the eye. "Kris, answer me. Are you hurt?"

"No." I answered truthfully, sitting up. "I'm fine. Just a little dazed." I looked over at the motorcycle sprawled on its side. "Is the bike ok?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine. It's made of strong stuff. It's you I'm worried about. Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yes, yes. I'm great. Honestly. That was… wow." I giggled. Seth growled.

"I think Seth had a little panic attack." Jacob chuckled. "You should've seen him. As soon as you sped off he phased on the spot, ripped all his clothes to shreds."

I ruffled Seth's head. "Oops. Sorry Seth-o." Seth growled once more.

"Can we go again?" I breathed. Seth barked loudly, clearly unhappy about the idea. Jacob shrugged.

"I guess. If you want to. We'll go slower though, hey?"

I nodded, my insides buzzing with excitement. Jacob pulled me to my feet as Seth circled the pair of us. "Cool it Seth." Jake chided. Seth whined. "Put the helmet back on and listen to what I say." Jacob picked up my bike, handing it to me. Seth leaned against it, holding it upright once more. I got on, already squeezing the clutch.

"Right, now this time I don't want you to use the throttle. We're going to work on braking… _gently." _Jacob spoke pointedly. I blushed underneath my helmet. He kick-started the bike. "Now all you have to do is let go of the clutch. Do it all at once and the bike will go forward, but this way it'll stay upright without Seth holding it. Do NOT use the throttle, instead just go at that pace for a while, then –when you feel like it – pull the break down _slowly. _The bike oughta grind to a halt. You'll have to steady it with your foot. Ok?"

I nodded, trying to remember all the instructions. Jacob chuckled, as if he'd read my mind. "A lot to remember I know, just concentrate on one thing at a time. Clutch. Ride. Break. Steady. Alright?"

I nodded again, excitement building in my chest. _Clutch. Ride. Break. Steady. Got it._ "I'm ready."

Jacob grinned. "Cool. Let her rip!"

I let go of the clutch. At once the bike sped forward again, this time without Seth's help. Seth himself was still running alongside me, but at a much slower speed than before. My eyes flickered to the throttle. My fingers itched to twist it, give this baby some speed. But Jacob's words echoed round my head –_Clutch. Ride. Break. Steady – _and I resisted. I could see Billy's house in the distance.

"Just a little closer." I muttered to myself, curling my fingers round the break, readying myself.

Finally I decided I ought to slow down. I tapped down lightly on the brake and the bike began to slow. Encouraged, I pushed it down a little more. The bike slowed further. I repeated this until the bike was almost at a standstill. I could feel it wavering beneath me. It was going to topple over! I pulled down the break the rest of the way and stuck out my leg in readiness. The bike pulled to a halt and suddenly its grotesque weight was all on my leg.

"Ugh!" I grunted in the effort to keep it upright. Seth at once bounded over to hold it upright with his back. I smiled at him, grateful for his help. "Thanks Seth-o."

Jacob pulled his own bike to a halt beside me. "Wow Kris! That was great! Well done!"

My grin literally spread from ear to ear. I pulled off the helmet and set it on my lap so that Jacob could see how pleased I was.

"That was insane!" I breathed. Seth put his front paws up on the back of my bike to lick my face. I giggled and pushed him away. "Gerrof you!"

Jacob laughed too. "You want to go again?"

I could hardly contain myself. "Yes!" Seth yelped his approval from beside me. He obviously thought I was getting the hang of this too.

The rest of the day was spent driving up and down the dusty dirt track. Seth stayed in his wolf form all day long, mainly acting as my furry cushion if ever I lost control (which happened a fair few times). We stopped once when Billy called us in for food, not that I was very hungry. I was running on pure adrenaline by this point and I spent the whole of lunch begging Jacob to let me out on the bikes again. I had mastered starting and stopping and was just getting to grips with turning and accelerating. However it eventually started to get dark and even I had to admit defeat.

"Won't your mom be wondering where you are?" Jacob pointed out as I pleaded with him for one last go.

"I guess." I nodded miserably. "But I'm so close to cracking this. Just one more go? Please?"

Jacob chuckled, shaking his head. "I think we oughta call it a day Kris."

Seth, who had phased back and borrowed some of Jacob's clothes, appeared behind me. "Come on Krissy, Jake's right. We can try it again tomorrow."

My eyes lit up. "Tomorrow." I agreed. "Straight after school?"

Jacob looked a little pained. My shoulders sagged. "Nessie." I said, realising that learning to ride was eating at his time and not just mine.

"I kinda have to see her tomorrow Kris. Sorry." Jacob scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "But how about Tuesday?"

I weighed up the options. Sure I could wait two days. "Sounds great." I replied, defeated. Seth hugged me.

"My little racing driver."

I drove Seth back to his before going home. He kissed me fondly farewell in the truck.

"Thanks for today Seth. It was awesome, really."

Seth beamed at me. "You did so well. I'm so proud of you."

"Not too dangerous then?" I teased. "Are you ready to admit you overreacted?"

"Nope." Seth grinned cheekily at me. "Quileute rule number one: admit to nothing."

I laughed, kissing him again. "I'll see you tomorrow at school." I mumbled through his kisses.

"Tomorrow's too long." He mumbled back. I laughed, pushing him away.

"Get lost, you big softy."

The van felt much too cold without him.

Mum was a little concerned when I got back.

"Where have you been Kiki? I was worried sick!"

"I left a note." I mumbled.

"Yes, but I didn't know you'd be gone all day…" She cut herself short, staring at my face. "Your head!" She suddenly cried. "You're bleeding."

"Crap." My hand shot to my forehead. I'd cut myself slightly at some point during the day, tumbling off the bike. I thought it'd healed up but obviously not. "It's nothing big mum. I'm fine."

"What were you doing today Krista?" Mum had her stern voice on. I winced.

"Nothing. I was with Seth. I told you."

My mother eyed me up and down. "Well next time, if you're going to be home this late will you at least ring me? I don't like you driving after dark. You only passed your test this summer!" I stayed silent. "In fact, I don't want you driving after dark full stop." I rolled my eyes.

"Come on Mum, it was one time. I'm fine."

"You're bleeding from your head and you're trying to tell me, you're 'fine'? I'm not going to ask you again: what were you doing today?"

I inwardly grimaced. Trust mum to get all 'maternal' the one day I actually do something behind her back. She pays no attention to anything I do for months and then suddenly she's eyeing me up like a roast turkey.

"I was at Seth's. I tripped on the stairs and cut my head, that's all."

Mum wasn't buying it. "Krista, I've known you long enough to tell when you're lying to me."

I laughed bitterly. So now she suddenly _knows _me after a lifetime of not getting me at all. This just pushed her over the edge.

"Right. You're grounded."

"What?" My eyes bulged. This was totally unfair. "Mum, this is ridiculous!"

"I mean it Krista!" Mum interrupted me again. "I know I've been pretty relaxed with your mood swings and what not up until now but… quite frankly… I'm sick of it. I'm happy that you've got yourself a new boyfriend and all but I think you're spending far too much time with this gang of boys. I mean, have you even done any homework this weekend?"

I guiltily envisioned the stack of undone homework hidden under my bed. Mum was right; I had been getting a little behind. But work just didn't seem important with Seth around.

"I thought not." Mum carried on, angrily pacing. "When are you going to take responsibility for yourself Krista? You don't understand anything about the world!"

What the hell? Where had all this come from? "Mum-" I started but she didn't let me finished.

"In fact, from now on. I want you home after school every day."

"WHAT?"

"And I want you to find yourself a job. I want you to start taking responsibility for yourself."

"I don't believe this." I stared at my mother. I always knew she was a little crazy and impulsive about things, but this was completely ridiculous. She'd gone way too far. "One minute you're fine and then I come home a little late _one time _and you fly off the handle!" I growled at her.

"I'm sorry Krista. But it's about time you took a good hard look at yourself. I know what's best for you."

"No you don't!" I shouted, suddenly furious. "You don't understand me at all! You never have!"

"Krista Elizabeth Hughes, don't you dare talk to your mother like that!"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

"Don't you 'whatever' me, young lady." My mother started, but I'd already stormed upstairs slamming my door.

"ARG!" I screamed into my pillow. Why did Mum have to be such a BITCH? She'd done this sort of thing before, many times: she'd try to be the 'cool', 'hip' mum for months, letting me do as I wished, before suddenly remembering she had motherly duties and completely going overboard with the whole 'control your daughter' thing, acting like the super-bitch of the century.

I thought of not seeing Seth after school and bitter, heated tears welled up in my eyes. I wiped them away angrily with the back of my hand, staring at the mascara smudges left there. The bikes! I wouldn't be able to ride on Tuesday! The thought made me angrier than ever. I was nearly eighteen for heaven's sake! Ok, so not nearly… but I would be in a year! She had absolutely no right to control me like this. The tears were coming thick and fast by now, which just made me more frustrated and upset. I had the most perfect day and she completely spoiled it. And Dad wasn't even here to try and make her see sense. Misery crept over me like a dark cloud.

I thought about calling Seth, but I didn't want to bother him with my pathetic problems. Yeah, he'd understand, but come on! He turned into a giant dog for crying out loud! Get some perspective Kris!

I threw on my pyjamas and got into bed, curling up under my covers. The wind roared harshly outside, making me thankful I was at least warm inside rather than out there. I snuggled further under the covers, drifting out of consciousness.

I was woken half an hour later by a soft tapping on my door. I lay still, pretending to be asleep. It could only be my mother.

Sure enough, mum entered the room, sitting down on the end of my bed.

"Kiki?" She whispered into the darkness. I didn't answer. "Kiki, I know you're awake." I heard her sigh. "Krista, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so… angry earlier. I don't mean to be harsh. I just… I'm not a bad person." I felt her stroking the covers where my feet were. "I guess I was a little rash. You don't have to come straight home after school. I'm not going to stop you seeing your friends or Seth."

She broke off again, as if she was unsure of what to say. "We always knew this move would be hard and… I mean… the way you behaved all summer, I thought I was never going to see you smile again." Her voice caught in her throat and came out in a horrible, choking sound. "I know this is hard for you, away from your old friends. I know you never wanted to come here… But you chose it Kiki. You chose me over your dad." I winced under the covers, the memory of the court case that I had tried to block out of my mind bubbling to the surface. "When you chose _me_… you made me so happy Krista. I thought… I thought that this was best thing for you… for us…"

The memories were coming up in floods now: the court case, the crying, the look on my dad's face. I felt my pillow growing wet by my face and realised I was crying again. I think mum was too.

"A fresh start. It's all I wanted." She sounded so pitiful and lost. I scrunched up my eyes, trying to block everything out. "I know you miss your dad Krista. I mean, for god's sake I miss him too."

I had to stuff my fist in my mouth to stifle my sobs. She didn't miss him! She couldn't. If she had any feelings for him at all they wouldn't have got divorced. I tried to stay still but I was shaking so much that I knew mum could tell I was awake.

"I'm sorry Kiki. I'm sorry for messing everything up." She got up to leave, turning only once to look at me as she reached the door. "I love you."

"Love you too." I whispered, pretty sure that she couldn't hear me. The door closed and I rolled over in bed, wiping my face on my duvet. Of course I loved my mother. At some points, all I want to do is to hug her, talk to her like a real mother and daughter… like we used to once. But since the divorce it's been so strained. The conversation had dredged up memories that I had been stifling since we moved here. Memories I couldn't face. I heard her choked sobs from the room next door and I felt wretched; so alone. But I suppose tonight wouldn't be the first night I've cried myself to sleep.

* * *

**That was a horrible ending. I'm sorry. It's kind of important for the next chapter though. Build up to the big crux of the story that's coming soon (yes, this is all pre-planned, don't worry).**

**Kris will cheer up, next chapter. I promise.**

**Reviews please :) I love you all.**


	6. Chapter 6: Lets put a smile on that face

**Hello again. Sorry for the slow updates. I am IMMENSELY grateful to you all for sticking with this. Modules and school work are taking up WAY too much time. But thank you, thank you, thank you for all the positive feedback (especially lostintranslation. She's fab). Reviews make my day. **

**Continuing on the sadness of the last chapter... this will lighten up by the end. Promise!**

**Disclaimer: I own no one except Krista. All hail Stephanie Meyer.**

* * *

_Seth Clearwater_

I could tell something was wrong the moment Kris picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Her voice was dull and emotionless, like she'd just woken up.

"Krissy? Are you ok? Did I wake you?"

"I'm fine." She didn't sound it. "No you didn't wake me. I've been up a couple of hours. Doing homework." She said it like it was some bitter joke. I frowned.

"Can I see you today?"

"Sure. Tell me where and I'll be there." She didn't sound too enthusiastic. Something was definitely wrong.

"Tell you what, I'll come over to yours. We can watch a movie or something. Leah just bought the new Batman on DVD. You seen it?"

"Don't think so…" Again, her voice was distant, like she didn't really care.

"That's settled then. I'll be there in ten minutes." _Love you – _I wanted to say, but didn't.

Two phases later, I was outside Krista's tiny house in Forks. She was waiting by the door. There were faint shadows under her eyes like she hadn't been sleeping and when I went to hug her, she clung on so tight, I was worried something serious had happened.

"Krissy? Are you sure you're alright? You look like you haven't slept that much-"

"I'm fine." She snapped, pulling sharply away from me. "Stop asking."

I quelled the little monster inside me that yearned to find out whatever was hurting my Krista, and beat the living daylights out of it. She stalked inside the house to the tiny living room and I followed her meekly.

"Your mom not in?" I asked cautiously, worried she might bite my head off again.

"No. She's out." She sat down on the sofa, pulling her legs up in front of her and folding her arms tightly across her chest, shoulders stiff. "We gonna watch a film then?"

I pulled out the DVD I had stolen off Leah – had to fight her for it as well. When will I learn? Leah does NOT share – and put it in the machine. Picking up the remote, I sat next to Kris and put the film on play.

I pulled her close against my chest. She relaxed a little, moulding into the space next to me, but her little shoulders stayed stiff. I draped an arm around them and kissed her forehead, hoping to help her relax but she just stared at the television screen, not really watching the film at all. I wondered whether or not I should quiz her on it at the end.

We didn't talk the entire movie. Usually, when it got to a gruesome or scary part, Kris would lean into me, and cower in my arms, all the while trying to act tough like she wasn't scared, but she didn't even bat an eyelid at Heath's incredible "_Let's put a smile on that face." _

At the end of the movie she didn't even show any sign of having realised it was over. She might as well have been asleep.

"Like it?" I asked wonderingly.

"S'alright." She said, shrugging.

I sighed heavily. Why was she being so difficult? I nuzzled her cheek with my nose, trying to cheer her up. Her mouth twitched up at the corners a little and she stretched her hand up to my face, before pulling it away and standing up.

"You want something to eat?" She asked, almost mechanically. I nodded and she walked into the kitchen. Suddenly it hit me.

Oh God.

She was breaking up with me!

It was the only reason for her being so off and cold with me. She was going to break up with me. The blood rushed in my ears and I suddenly felt dizzy. I groped for another explanation for her irrational behaviour, but found none. The singular and only reason why people act strangely towards their partner is because they're softening the blow before the crunch.

But why? I wracked my brain. What had I done? Yesterday was so perfect! I could think of nothing to prompt the upcoming apocalypse (yes, that is what it felt like: the end of the world).

"Seth?" Kris's voice drifted in from the kitchen. It sounded worried. "Can I ask you something?"

My heart leapt into my mouth. This was it: crunch time. I suddenly felt hot. Much too hot. A first for a werewolf I'm sure. I called out in a strange, choked voice that didn't sound like me at all "Sure." I got up to walk to the kitchen, swaying on my feet. Kris was standing at the far side of the tiny room staring at the floor.

"Seth…" She began. _NO! _Screamed my head. _KRIS NO! DON'T DO THIS NOW! _I wracked my brain, trying to think of a way to stop what she was about to say. I had to stop her! Say something Seth! Anything! "Seth, why is your Dad never around?"

_What? _I stopped shaking. What had she just said?

"Umm…" I was taken by surprise… completely unaware.

"You don't have to answer." She cut in hurriedly, still not looking up from the floor. "I just thought I'd ask."

"It's fine." I answered, surprised, suppressing the urge to sigh with relief. "He passed away a few years ago."

Kris' head shot up, her eyes locking with mine. "Seth!" She breathed, her voice choked and soft. "Oh my god, Seth! I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

I rushed to her, guessing that it would be alright to do so. "It's fine. It was a long time ago." I pulled her into a hug. "Why the question though? It was a bit… out of the blue."

I felt her tiny body shudder in my arms. "Just thinking." She mumbled.

I bent my head down to kiss her. She seemed to relax a little more, melting into my arms. I picked her up, placing her on the counter top so that she was almost head-height with me.

"Are you sure you're ok?" I breathed, pressing my forehead to hers.

"I'm fine." She bristled. "Will you _please_ stop asking? It's doing my head in!" Her shoulders tensed once more.

I apologised, kissing her again, trying to recover the lost good mood I'd succeeded in banishing. "You know…" I thought I'd confess my previous fears. "I thought for a second you were going to say something awful."

"When?"

"Just now. When you said you wanted to ask me something?"

"What did you think I was going to say?" She looked me in the eye, puzzled.

"I…" I grinned sheepishly. "I thought you were going to break up with me."

Kris gaped. I hoped she would've laughed, but instead she just stared. "Break up with you? Why on earth-?" She shook her head. "I would never-"

I pressed my forehead to hers once more. "Promise?" I asked, pressing her for an answer.

"On my life." She swore, and my heart soared. "Why would you even think it?"

"Paranoid I guess." I shrugged. Confusion wrinkled her perfect little features.

"If either of us here should be paranoid, Seth Clearwater, it's me. I mean, any passer by would look at us and go 'what is _he _doing with a fugly tramp like _her_?'"

I laughed and shook my head, placing both hands on each of her cheeks. "Other way around Krissy. I hardly feel worthy of you sometimes: a stupid, great wolf-boy like me." I joked, but meant every word. If only I could tell her…

Kris looked down at the floor again. Her dark mood seemed to have returned and I wondered what had prompted it. Had I said something? "Sorry, I forgot I was getting lunch sorted." She pushed me away lightly to get down.

"S'alright. I'm not hungry." I lied easily, eager to find out what's wrong.

"A Quileute boy? Not Hungry? I don't think so." Kris snorted, pulling out some cold quiche from the fridge. I eyed it, suddenly ravenous. She knew me so well.

She got out two plates and forks, setting them on the table and serving up the quiche. My piece was considerably larger than hers, but there was nothing unusual about that. I tried to chat as we ate – or rather, I ate and she played with her food – but Kris was pretty unresponsive. What was _wrong _with her? Had something happened? Maybe it was that time of the month. I chuckled to myself and Krista shot me look of daggers. I gulped. Maybe not PMS then.

I pushed my empty plate away from me. "Come on, upstairs. I want to see your room."

Kris made a face. "Not now. I have to clear this up first-"

I walked round the table, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. "It can wait. I want to see you room!" Every time I'd visited, she'd never allowed me in her room. I'd figured it was a house rule or something: no boys in the bedroom. But her mom wasn't here, so maybe…

"No." Kris tried to pull away but I held her firm.

"Why not?"

"It's just… oh LET GO of me Seth!" She stomped her little foot and glared at me, but I held fast. I was determined to get to the bottom of her foul mood.

"Not until you show me your room. I've never seen it-"

"FINE!" She shouted at me, storming towards the staircase. "You want to see my room? I'll show you my bloody room you annoying prat."

I didn't let go of her hand as she fumed up the stairs and towards a small white door. I didn't let go as she stopped outside the door and made a last feeble attempt to pull away from me. I didn't let go as she begrudgingly kicked open the door to her bedroom. Only once we were inside, with the door firmly closed did I let go.

I looked around.

All I could see was boxes.

The room itself was tiny: a small, unmade bed on the far end, opposite an uncurtained window, a large built-in wardrobe next to the door and a small vanity table under the window.

But apart from the large cardboard boxes that littered the room, it was empty.

"Umm…" I scratched my head, trying to think of something positive to say. "It's very… you?"

"What? An ugly, disorganised mess? Gee thanks." Kris flopped down on the bed, all the fight seemed to have been sucked out of her.

I hastened to correct myself. "No! That's no what I meant. I meant to say… well… oh come on Kris. You haven't even unpacked!"

"Well observed, genius." Kris snarled. I sighed, rolling my eyes and sitting down on the bed beside her.

"Are you ever going to tell me what's eating you Kris, or are you just going to snap at me all day?"

Kris just glared at me, pulling her legs up in front of her and wrapping her arms around them like before.

I paced around the room. "All I'm saying is this room _could _be nice, if it was decorated and stuff… like some photos! A couple of photos of you and your mom, or your dad or… or me…" I turned to glance at her, and my heart melted.

Kris looked up at me, her beautiful, brown eyes glistening. Was she crying? I pulled her close into tight hug. "Hey, hey. I'm sorry. Krissy, I didn't mean it." Tiny shudders wracked her body and she silently sobbed into my chest. "Kris." I cooed her name over and over, my heart breaking.

_You're a useless excuse for an imprint Seth Clearwater. _I told myself. _The whole reason for you being around is to stop her ever feeling like this. You're meant to look after her! Come on!_

"Talk to me Kris." I whispered, my hot breath making the hair around her ear flutter. "Tell me what's hurting you and together we'll work it out."

"I - can't." She sobbed. "It's pathetic."

"It's obviously not pathetic if it's making you feel like this. Please talk to me!" I pleaded, not even worrying about how desperate I sounded. "_Please."_

"It _is _pathetic." She whispered through her tears as I rocked her back and forth. "Because your father died, and here I am worrying about how… how…"

I rested my cheek on the top of my head. "Kris, my dad died a long time ago: years ago. Of course I still miss him, but I don't really think about it any more. And when I do, it doesn't hurt." I stroked her hair soothingly. "You miss your dad don't you." Her head nodded below mine.

"I hurt him so badly Seth." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "The divorce… I…"

"It wasn't your fault." I told her, almost sternly. It was _so_ important that she knew this. "Their divorce wasn't your fault."

She laughed a little through her tears. "I know that, you pillock. It wasn't the fact they got divorced. It was… the court case… I mean… oh Seth." She clung to me. "I thought he would hate me afterwards – never want to see me again. But he doesn't. I just can't believe… you should have seen his face." Her sentences were coming out all muddled and disjointed. She wasn't making sense.

"Tell me what happened Krissy." It was obvious she needed to talk about it, and I couldn't console her unless I knew what it was that upset her.

She hiccupped before speaking. "When my parents divorced, it was pretty messy. Dad was utterly sick of mum and just wanted out. She let him have the house, because she wanted to move away, but they didn't want to share anything… and I mean anything. I became the point of argument: who would get custody of me. Of course, it was my choice, but… but the mere fact I had to choose… and say my choice in that room-" She shook her head. "That wretched, wretched room." I stroked her hair again. "I don't even know why I made the decision I did. I think it was partly because I didn't want to live in the same house as we did before… too many memories… but to be honest that wasn't it because dad would've sold the house if I'd asked him.

"I chose my mother. God help me I chose _her _over him and I had to say it… say it in front of everyone in that horrible room." She clung to me again, twisting her head to look into my eyes. "His face, Seth. I've never seen him so upset. I broke his heart and I regretted the decision every single day until…" She broke off.

"Until?" I prompted.

"Until I met you." It was barely audible. "And now I hate myself, because the reason I never unpacked was because I was trying to fool myself that this wasn't permanent, that I could go back and change my mind… but then I met you and… well… I couldn't leave now."

She sounded so broken, so lost. I pulled her tighter to me, wrapping my arms around her and shielding her from her own invisible demons.

"Can't you go visit him?"

"Of course, whenever I like… he said he'd pay for the flights himself. But it's not the same. I can't take back what I said."

We sat in silence after that. I glanced around the room at all the boxes and thought about what Kris'd said. With a lick of paint, some curtains and some photos this room could be pretty. It wasn't going to change how she felt or solve any problems, but it might help. I suddenly realised Kris was speaking again.

"And I hate her for it. It's completely irrational – I know that. But I can't help hating her for the decision that _I made."_

"Who?"

"Mum." Kris whimpered, sobbing again. "We used to be close and now… I can't look at her."

Suddenly she pulled away slightly, almost laughing hysterically. "Look at me! I'm such a mess. Here I am whining on about things that thousands of other kids with separated parents must go through, and you can turn into a giant bloody dog, for heaven's sake!" She wiped her eyes viciously. "I seriously need to get some perspective."

I grabbed her hands. "No Kris. You don't. Everyone has problems and no matter how big or small they are to other people, it's the ones suffering them who have the _real _perspective. You're obviously still upset about the divorce, and that's ok. I didn't get over my dad's death for a year, and that's not as big a problem as someone starving and living on the streets, but for me, it was the worst thing in my life. Everyone has problems, it's the ones who can't solve them that have the real disadvantage."

Kris half smiled at me. "That… that was pretty profound Seth-o."

I grinned, "I've been known to have my moments." I looked at her more seriously. "You know your dad loves you though, right? Sure he was probably upset at the time, but he knows how difficult a decision it was for you. Hell, I don't think kids should _ever _be put through _that_ in a divorce. But the important thing is he doesn't blame you. You _have _to know that."

She nodded, numbly.

"And as for your mum. You know it's not her fault." I chuckled. "Ok, so I _have_ met the woman and she _is_ a little crazy." Kris managed to laugh too. "But I can also tell that she's trying really hard to make it work here. And I'm not going to say that I'm not glad that she brought you here, because then I would never have met you. And that would majorly suck."

Kris threw her arms around me. "You're kind of amazing. You know that?"

I laughed and hugged her back. "Well… it has been said."

"I keep forgetting that, all else aside, I'm the luckiest girl in the world?"

"What, because you get a boyfriend and a household pet all rolled into one neat package?"

Kris laughed again, playfully punching me. "That, and my own personal radiator. You're a three-way deal Seth Clearwater."

She then leaned into me and pressed her lips to mine. There was a strange kind of urgency in her kiss, like she was fuelling a craving, or fulfilling a necessity. I liked to think of it that way: that she needed my kisses as much as I needed hers. I curled my hands round her back as she twisted hers in my hair, almost purring with pleasure. If I'm a dog, she'd be a cat: my little kitten.

I finally pulled away, feeling a little stab of regret as I did, but resisting the urge to press my lips to hers again, as talking would be a little difficult that way.

"I've got an idea." I twisted a strand of hair round my finger.

"I'm all ears." I was glad she'd perked up, and even gladder that I'd been the one to improve her mood.

"You got any paint?"

She frowned. "What kind of paint? Watercolours? Oils? Poster paint-"

"Wall paint." I pressed a finger to her lips before she could interrupt me. "Just hear me out. My amazing, fantastic idea is that we re-decorate."

"Seth-" She groaned through my fingers.

"No, no, no. Before you argue and get all annoyed, just listen. You live here now. You already said that you're staying, because of how wonderful, fantastic and amazing I am." She giggled. "So, if you're staying, this room needs to be habitable. Not just a supplies closet. So let's re-decorate."

"I can't paint." She said, doubtfully, pushing my hand away.

"I can." I lied. "Anyway, it's hardly an art class. We just need to be able to splash some colour onto a wall."

"There's paint in the garage-" Kris started. I was off the bed and halfway down the stairs before she could change her mind. Sure enough, in the garage were three tins of white paint, one of blue, two of green and one each of yellow and brown. I piled them into my arms and charged back upstairs.

"Right, we have the makings of a new room, now lets empty it."

"Seth," Kris groaned. "This isn't such a good idea. Mum will go ape if we make a mess."

"We'll clear up before she gets back. Now, change into something you don't mind getting all paint-y and I'll carry all the stuff out your room.

It didn't take long to empty the bedroom. I piled the boxes in the tiny landing and carried her bed downstairs to the living room. By the time Kris had come out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a pair of leggings and a large shirt, her room was empty.

I winked cheekily at her. "Painting overalls suit you." I lifted her up and spun her round. She laughed and made a feeble attempt to push me away.

"You get way too overexcited about things Seth-o."

"The guys will totally laugh at me for this later." I agreed. "But who cares. Time to get messy!" I carried the paints into her room. "Right, I was thinking… how about we paint these walls white," I gestured to the wall with the window and the wall opposite, "And paint that wall at the end blue."

"It's a pretty dark blue." Kris looked in the can, wrinkling her nose at it.

"Midnight blue." I said. "Perfect." I pulled out two brushes I'd picked up from the garage earlier. "Time to get painting."

"Don't you want to change into something you don't mind getting messy?" Kris asked. I thought for a moment, then pulled off my shirt.

"Better?"

Kris nodded, blushing. "Suits me fine." I kissed her.

"Come on then! Let's paint!"

We got to work on the white walls first. I'm pretty sure we got more paint on each other than we actually got on the walls, but after a time, progress was definitely being made. Kris ended up with a white handprint on each butt cheek, as I couldn't resist dipping my hand in the paint can and grabbing her perfectly shaped behind. She squealed and slapped my hand away laughing, before lunging at my chest with a paintbrush.

I think we looked more like abominable snowmen at the end of it all.

We took a break before starting on the blue wall. (And by break I totally mean make-out session). The blue wall took less time than the white ones, naturally, and by the end we resembled swamp-monsters more than we did snowmen.

"Looks good." Kris approved. "Classy."

I frowned. "Something's missing." I looked at the other paint cans and an idea sprung to mind. Seriously, today I was like a thinking mastermind!

"Let's move the furniture back in." I said, moving towards the door.

"Don't be a moron, the paint's still wet."

"It's quick-dry." I held up a can. "See? C'mon!"

I refused to let Kris help me lift the bed, preferring to show of my amazing strength and muscles (I was topless remember?) as I lifted it up the stairs and put it in her room. Next we moved the vanity desk back to where it stood, under the window, before looking around to appraise our work.

"It's still a bit empty." I mused. Kris laughed at me.

"That's because everything's still in boxes you pillock."

"Yeah I know, but I'm envisioning that all in." I winked at her. "And it still looks empty."

"Did you _see_ how many boxes are out there?" Kris muttered.

"Alright then little-miss-sarcastic. Let's unpack."

So we did. I let Kris unpack all her clothes into the wardrobe, as I unpacked make-up and perfume etc onto her vanity desk. It was only when I got to the boxes of books when I realised there was no bookshelf.

"Do you have anything to put these on?" I held up a copy of _Harry Potter. _

"Ummm, mum said there was a bookshelf in the garage that I could use, but I don't know how good nick it's in."

I went and retrieved it anyway. It was in a pretty good condition, just a bit dusty. I gave it a wipe, then stacked it full of books. Eventually we got down to the last few boxes of stuffed toys and photo frames.

"They're all empty." I observed.

Kris rolled her eyes. "Your wolfy eye-sight astounds me." I pushed her slightly.

"Well we're going to have to fill these." I shook one of the frames. "Tell you what, can you go get some stuff from town?" I reached into my pocket to take out some cash. "I'll write a list."

Kris shook her head. "No, it's fine. Whatever it is, I'll pay."

I ripped the label off one of the paint cans and wrote a list on the back. "No arguing missy. Call it a late birthday present."

Kris looked at the list. "Dark green duvet cover? White fairy lights? Midnight blue curtain material? Seth, this is meant to be my bedroom, not Santa's grotto!"

"Trust me!" I kissed her, shoving some dollar bills into her hand. "Just nip into town and get these."

"Where from?"

"Shops! C'mon Kris! Trust me!"

"And what'll you be up to when I'm gone?"

I tapped my nose, knowingly. "Wait and see." Kris sighed, but kissed me goodbye obligingly before going downstairs. I waited till I heard Vera pulling out of the driveway before I got to work.

First, I went downstairs to the living room. There was a small table on the far side of the sofa that I thought was kind of pointless, so I took it upstairs, along with the lamp that was sitting on it. "All for the greater cause" I muttered to no one in particular. I placed the table and lamp by her bed, and gave the table a quick lick of white paint.

I stripped the current duvet covers off her bed and chucked them down the stairs – I'd deal with them later – then set to work with the paintbrush and paint.

This was going to be the tricky bit. I'd never been much of an artist, and the task ahead was daunting and almost impossible, but I wanted to impress Kris, so I battled on. I'd almost finished by the time I heard Kris pull back into the driveway.

"Seth?" She called up the stairs. "I got the stuff!"

"Don't come in!" I cried. "Wait downstairs!" My masterplan was almost complete. I rushed downstairs and grabbed the bag from her hands, kissing her on the cheek quickly "Thanks! I won't be a sec! Just wait! It's worth it!" then rushed back upstairs.

Two minutes later I stood at the top of the stairs, gesturing for Kris to come up. I covered her eyes with my hands.

"You know, I'm a little scared." Kris confessed, grinning.

"Don't be. You'll love it."

I led her into the room and closed the door. "Ok, open your eyes!"

She did, and – much to my satisfaction – gasped. "Oh Seth!"

I'd hung up the midnight blue curtains, and pulled them closed, so that the room was dark, save for the bedside lamp and the fairy lights I'd erected around the wardrobe. The green duvet cover and pillows made the bed look warm and comfy, especially as I'd placed one of the stuffed animals I'd found – a fuzzy puppy one – on the pillows. The best part though, was the wall.

The wall, that had been midnight blue, now depicted a scene. I had studded the top half of the wall with tiny yellow stars and drawn a large full moon in the top right corner. Just above the bed, I'd carefully painted little green and brown fir trees, dotted in little clumps just below head height when standing up. The best part though was, just in front of the trees, I'd painted a pack of five wolves. Ok, so they were kind of blobby, and had taken me hundreds of attempts, but they were definitely recognisable as wolves. Kris covered her gaping mouth with her hands.

"Oh Seth!" She said again as she pulled her towards me. "It's beautiful!"

"You like it?"

"I love it! Seth, it's amazing! How did you do it? And you said you couldn't paint!"

"I can't." I shrugged. "Not really." I turned to her. "Do you really like it?"

"Seth-o, it's the best room in the whole world. I can't believe how amazing you are!"

I grinned, my heart exploding in a whirlwind of joy. If Kris was, I was happy. I think that's how the rules of imprinting work. I lifted Kris up to kiss her, wrapping her legs around my middle.

She stroked my face in her cold hands, staring into my eyes.

"Seth?" She whispered.

I rubbed my nose against hers. "What?"

"I think I love you."

_What?_

_WHAT?!?!!?!?_

I spun her round and round, my heart doing leaps and bounds in my chest. I felt light and dizzy, and at the same time like I was about to phase. The room, the house, the world, everything melted away until it was just me and her, standing alone on top of the universe.

"You mean that?" I whispered, holding my breath in case my perfect world would come crashing down around my shoulders.

Kris blushed and nodded, hiding her face under her hair. "I'm sorry, if it's too forward and all… I know we've only been dating a few weeks and… well… I know I'm such a moody cow but-"

I cut her off; pressing my lips to hers with such ferocity I was scared I would break her.

"Krista Hughes." I mumbled between kisses. "I love you too."

And she smiled. And I smiled. And the whole world smiled with us. She was mine. I was hers. And that was that.

* * *

**Happy readers? I thought a little bit of cheesy, mushy, lovey-dovey goodness was in order after all that angst. Next chapter is already written (just needs somme fine-tuning) and will be up soon. Thoughts? Feelings? Let me know!**

**x**


	7. Chapter Seven: Sonnets and Sixpacks

**Finally, an update! You all must be so irritated with how slow I update so I decided to add a little mushy-filler chapter before the next big one. (Seriously, the next chapter is a good'un) This is just a short little clip of how Seth and Kris spend their time together. I thought they both deserved a little love.**

**Thank you again reviewers. I love you all (especially lostmidtranslation, who never fails to cheer me up) Also, thanks to KJ (anonymous reviewer) for all your constructive criticism. It's super helpful and I'm going to try and go back and correct all the mistakes in past chapters. I agreed with everything you said so thank you!**

**Disclaimer: You know it all. Thanks Steph.**

* * *

_Krista Hughes_

September turned into October, which drew into November. The air developed an icier edge; whilst all Forks' birds migrated south, save for the robins and other such critters. By the time December came around, I was waking early every morning, drawing back my midnight blue curtains to see if snow had fallen overnight. Each morning was the same however. No snow, only frost. The frost was still pretty though: covering everything in a thin sheet of ice so that it seemed that everything had a coating of pixie dust.

Vera was becoming increasingly difficult to drive down the frosty roads, even with the chains on the tyres that mum had put on for me. Mum and I were getting on a lot better than we had been. I suppose I had Seth to thank for that. The day after Seth and I redecorated, way back at the beginning of October, I went out and job-hunted. There wasn't much work to be had in Forks or La Push, but knowing the Quileute's proved pretty useful. I made some pocket change babysitting Claire whenever Quil couldn't – which wasn't very often – but Billy Black managed to get me a job as a checkout girl in La Push Garage-cum-grocery-store. It wasn't good money, but it meant that the Quileute kids came and hung out with me a lot, keeping me company when custom was thin. Plus it kept my mother happy.

Seth sat with me every day. I told him he didn't need to of course, but there was no getting rid of him. He mainly just sat beside the counter, chatting at me incessantly or stacking shelves whenever the store manager – Mr Abraham – asked me to. I was afraid at first that the manager would tell Seth to shoo, or else give me the sack, but I guess Mr Abraham was pretty good friends with Sue and Billy as he didn't seem to mind.

"Another job for Mr muscles here." He joked daily, whenever he had a stacking task for Seth to do.

Eventually I started making Seth do homework whilst I worked behind the counter. He moaned about it, but after Sue had come down on him like a tonne of bricks about his half semester grades, he agreed. He'd sit on his stool, asking me for help on the occasional calculus question – not that I was much help – or quietly scribbling in French or Spanish. I tried to get him to write some poetry for our English assignment once or twice, but it had ended in disaster:

* * *

_Roses and red violets are blue_

_Kris you're a weirdo but I love you_

* * *

"Kris, you should've dated Shakespeare if you wanted poetry. It's sonnets or six-packs." Seth lifted his shirt and strutted around the shop like the moron he was. I laughed despite myself and pulled his shirt down.

"That's for my eyes only Seth. I'm sure Mrs Robertson over there doesn't want to see your fat belly." The elderly Mrs Robertson glared at the pair of us, and set down her pint of milk, leaving in a huff. This only made me laugh harder as Seth poked me in the ribs.

"Who you calling fat?" He demanded, lifting up his shirt once more to reveal his perfectly toned stomach. I slapped it, my hand making a satisfying clapping sound on his bare skin. Seth collapsed in mock-pain. "Oof… Oh God! I'm dying! Kris, you killed me!"

"Stop playing silly bollocks." I grinned at him, moving back behind the counter to serve a customer. "Lets see some more of your poetry."

I handed the customer his change before wiping my hands on my apron, and walking over to Seth's perch.

"Right. Assess this one!" Seth handed me another sheet of paper. On it was four lines.

* * *

_Kris is the love of my life_

_She gets me in the mood._

_But it is it her sexy body?_

_NO, it's the way she cooks my food._

* * *

I laughed again. "Seth you are SUCH a muppet. No wonder your grades are spiralling downwards."

"To be honest, it's not like I'm going to need them." Seth yawned. I eyed him sceptically. "I mean, I'm not getting any older, looks-wise."

My breath caught in my throat a little and I looked at my feet. This had always worried me – this, anti-aging thing. Sure, it was fine now: Seth had the body of a twenty-five year old, and technically, he would always be a year older than me. But eventually I would start getting older, and looking older, and what then? My rational half was always telling me I was stupid to believe that Seth and I would be together forever, but somehow my heart told me that this was an in-it-for-life kinda thing. To tell the truth, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Seth obviously didn't notice my small moment of panic, as he sat down to his English assignment once more.

"Ugh. Shakespeare was such a pain in the ass!" He complained, throwing his book of sonnets on the floor. I picked it up and hit him over the head with it.

"At least he was romantic. Which is more than I can say for you, Romeo."

Seth jumped to his feet, scooping me up into a hug. "I'm romantic!" He protested. "You don't need to write poems to be romantic." I rolled my eyes, grinning. "I'll show you how romantic I can be." He kissed me before setting me down. "How about… be outside your house at eight tonight. I'll pick you up."

"Seth, you still can't drive."

"That's what Jake's bikes are for!"

"Wow, sounds so romantic already." I couldn't help but be sarcastic. Seth looked at me wearily.

"Fine, no bikes. I'll think of something, Krissy. Don't you worry." And with a wink, he was gone; out the front of the shop.

I sighed. I didn't get off work for another hour and a half.

Lucky bugger.

**----------------------------**

At eight o'clock, I was standing outside my house in the freezing cold. Seth had promised something romantic, so I thought I'd better dress up a tad. I had decided to wear my black leggings with my brown, suede knee-high boots, topped off with a cream jumper dress. Looked lovely, but bloody freezing.

I heard Seth approach before I saw him. The noise of an engine reached my confused ears; Seth couldn't drive? A pale white car pulled up in front of my house and I walked towards it.

"Seth?" I called, trying to peer in the window. The back door opened and Seth hopped out. He looked absolutely, bloody gorgeous. He was wearing a white linen suit with a dark black t-shirt. I think I've used the phrase 'sex god' to describe him before, but I will again. Sex. God.

He smiled a heart-melting smile and offered his hand. "Krista Hughes, may I have the pleasure?" My knees almost buckled.

I accepted his hand with a smile, trying to look cool and collected when inside my heart was racing so fast I thought I was going to die of a heart attack. He led me to the open back door and escorted me inside. Getting in, I voiced my burning question.

"Seth, who's driving?"

On cue, the driver, wearing a black suit, black cap and shades, turned round to look at me. He cheekily pushed his shades up and I gasped as I recognised the grinning face.

"Quil!"

"At your service, madam." He winked. "I will be your chauffeur this evening." Dropping the façade he pulled a face at me. "I don't know how Seth talked me into doing this." He confessed as I giggled. Seth climbed into the seat next to me.

"Where are we going?" I asked eagerly, grabbing his hand. Seth tapped the side of his nose with a knowing finger.

"Surprise." He said. "You wanted romantic, right?"

I nodded, a little numb. This was definitely more than I expected. I had been anticipating dinner maybe, at a restaurant or something. But Seth dressing up and Quil driving… this was above and beyond the call of duty.

"You alright?" Seth asked, squeezing my hand, a huge grin plastered over his gorgeous face. I nodded.

"Nervous." I admitted. "Dunno why though."

"Don't be." Seth kissed my cheek. "You'll love it." He then wrinkled up his nose. "At least, I hope you'll love it."

I hastened to reassure him. "Of course I will. I just wish I knew where you were taking me."

Quil made a noise from the front seat and Seth leaned forward to talk to him. I couldn't hear a word of it, they were muttering so quietly, but I was contented just to stare out the window at the pitch-black sky. Eventually Seth leaned back in his seat.

"Nearly there." He said. I grinned at him, albeit crookedly.

"Whose car is this?"

"Mine." Quil called from the front seat. "It's my baby."

"He bought it in some junk sale and Jake did it up for him." Seth explained. "Took some convincing to get him to agree to drive us."

"Begging and pleading more like it." Quil laughed. Seth glared at him.

"Yeah… well. No need to go into what I had to do to get you to agree."

I laughed. That was something I'd definitely have to get out of Quil later.

Quil pulled the car into the driveway of Seth's house. I frowned. "Your house?" I questioned.

"Casa Clearwater." Announced Quil, laughing. Seth laughed too, gazing at my puzzled, frowning face.

"Come on." He grabbed my hand and made as if to pull me out the car before stopping. "Oops. Sorry, forgot I was meant to be romantic." He got out instead, rushing to open my door for me. I stepped out, trembling slightly.

"What have you planned Seth?"

"Wait! Don't ruin the surprise." Seth grabbed my hand before turning to Quil. "You can go now. Thanks man."

"And miss her reaction? No way." Quil grinned at me, rearranging his cap. "Lead the way, lovebirds."

I blushed and leaned towards Seth as he opened the front door. He walked me through the front hall to the stairs, with Quil trailing behind. I assumed we'd be going to the kitchen, but instead Seth led me upstairs onto the landing.

"Seth, where on earth-"

"Shh!" Seth cut me off, cupping a hand over my mouth. "Just be patient."

Seth turned me so I faced down the landing. I gasped. There, at the very end, was a set of stairs, ones I hadn't seen before, leading up into the attic. They were obviously the foldout ones from the hatch that led up to the loft. Wrapped around the steps were dozens of white, twinkling fairy lights. I gaped at Seth.

"You did this?"

"Wait." Seth pushed me gently towards the stairs. "Ladies first."

Slowly, hardly believing my eyes, I ascended the rickety steps, taking them very slowly – one at a time – to ensure I didn't tread on any stray light bulb.

The loft itself was better than I ever could have imagined.

The tiny space had been completely cleared, lit dimly by two candles standing on a white-clothed table in the centre of the room. Two chairs were arranged around the table, which had been set with silver cutlery. A small trolley with dishes covered with lids stood to one side. Moonlight flitted in from a window in the roof, just above the table. I clung onto Seth's arm.

"You… you did all this?"

"I helped." Quil called out indignantly from the stairs behind me. "Took all day to clear this room; sweep it, vacuum it, polish cutlery etc. Your boyfriend's such a slave driver!"

I was too stunned to laugh. I just stood still, clinging onto Seth as though my legs were about to give way.

Seth leant down to whisper in my ear. "Do you like it?"

I stared up at him. "Like it? Seth I'm completely flabbergasted! It's amazing… I…" Speechless, I just stood and stared, unable to keep the enormous grin from my face.

"Come on, the food'll get cold." Seth pulled out a chair for me and I obligingly sat down. Seth sat opposite. "The starters just salad." He confessed. "The main meal took so long to cook I ran out of time." He grinned sheepishly.

I looked at the array of greenery before me. "You know me Seth-o. Love my rabbit food." I raised an eyebrow at him. "How are you keeping the mains hot?" I asked, puzzled.

"Heated plates."

"Ah." That explained it. Quil coughed from the stairway.

"I'll just leave you two to it then?" He said a little mournfully. I beamed at him.

"Thank you Quil. You're a wonder."

This cheered him up. "For you two, anything. I'm off to read Claire her bedtime story. Call me when you need me to take you home." He waved before descending the stairs.

Seth poured saffron coloured wine into our glasses. I raised my eyebrows, impressed.

"Wine? In America? Under twenty-one? Surely not!"

"Well, neither of us are driving and mom has a whole cellar-full. I thought, why not?"

I raised my glass. "Cheers." He mirrored me.

"Cheers."

The wine was nice: sweet, yet dry. It reminded me of the Chardonnay dad used to pick out back in the UK. It made me smile. The salad was good too. Obviously Seth hadn't spent much time making it, though it was arranged perfectly on the plate: almost too pretty to eat. I eventually brought myself to spear a piece of rocket, placing it delicately in my mouth; chewing then swallowing.

Seth watched me nervously. "Like it?"

"Love it." I grinned. "You could make a living out of this: Chef Seth."

Seth wrinkled up his nose. "Makes me sound more like a Looney Tune character." We ate in silence after that. I couldn't draw my eyes away from how perfect his face was, lit by the soft, flickering candlelight. His uneven face: so soft, with laughter lines already creasing at the edges of his eyes when he smiled; his perfect hair that seemed to glisten in the moonlight; the curve of his mouth that seemed impossibly delicate, even when eating.

"What?" Seth broke into my daydream. I blinked, looking down at my plate.

"Sorry." I mumbled. "It's just hard to concentrate sometimes… with you around. You dazzle me." _**(Author Note: Familiar line?)**_

Although I wasn't looking at his face, I could hear the smile in Seth's voice. "You think you have a hard time of it? Try having to create coherent sentences with you around. It's all I can do to stop myself spouting gibberish whenever I look at you."

I felt my cheeks redden, too embarrassed by the compliment to feel any genuine pleasure. Seth's throaty chuckle echoed around the tiny room, his aura filling the small space and engulfing me entirely. I rolled up the sleeves of my jumper and quickly finished my salad, suddenly feeling far too hot.

"You want more?" Seth asked, looking at my now-empty plate. "There's loads more stuff for salad downstairs, I can just nip down and get-"

"No." I smiled at him. "I'm fine."

"You sure? You look kinda red. More so than your usual rosy-cheeked self." I waved his concern away with an impatient hand.

"I'm fine. It's just hot in here, that's all."

Seth rose from his chair and reached up to open the skylight, letting the cool, wintery breeze drift into the room. I closed my eyes and breathed in the icy air, getting a good lungful.

"Better?"

"Much." I nodded. "Now what's for mains?"

Seth grinned again and leant forward to kiss my forehead before serving up the next course: cooked salmon in a pesto sauce, with roasted vegetables on the side. I put my hand on Seth's shoulder as he served up, stroking it adoringly.

"Seth, this is amazing! You never told me you could cook!"

Now it was Seth's turn to blush: his perfect face gaining a cute pink tinge. "It's nothing. There was more but Quil ate some already, as he stayed to help with the cleaning."

"Did he help cook as well?" I asked, a little surprised.

"Nope. That was all me." Seth blushed again. "It's not _that _good Kris, you haven't even tried it yet!"

"Well it looks fantastic. Jamie Oliver himself would be proud."

"Who?"

"Never mind." I rolled my eyes, remembering that Seth had never heard of the naked chef.

"You're funny Kris." He mussed my hair adoringly. I batted him away.

"Gerrof." I picked up my fork, using the edge to break off a piece of salmon before popping it in my mouth.

"Good?" Seth hovered by my chair, obviously too anxious to sit down. I closed my eyes, savouring the taste. If Marmite was my favourite food in the entire world, green pesto came in close second.

"Good would be an understatement." I murmured, eyes still closed. "Seth, this is divine."

I opened my eyes to see Seth beaming at me. "Really?" He gushed, "You like it? It's not overcooked is it? Because I think I overdid it on the fish a bit. I might have put too much pesto on it too but I couldn't be sure. The recipe called for a whole jarful which I thought was a bit much but-"

I cut Seth off by jumping up, placing a soppy, wet kiss on his cheek. "Stop worrying!" I teased. "Now shut up and eat."

Seth obliged, kissing me back before sitting back down opposite me. We chatted amiably for a while, eating the delicious food. Seth had completely exceeded all my expectations, but then again, he always had. My expectations of moving to Forks in the first place had not been hopeful. Really, it was Seth that changed all of that.

By the time we'd finished our meal, the wine bottle was empty too and I was feeling ever so slightly light-headed. Seth had made me laugh producing two chocolate soufflés before proceeding to tell me how he hadn't made them himself, but only cooked them. Cooking was one thing; apparently baking was a whole different kettle of fish.

I groaned, leaning back in my chair, full to the brim.

"That's it, I'm never eating again!" I complained, rubbing my belly. "I don't think you should cook too often Seth-o or I'll weigh twenty stone in a week!"

Seth grinned at me. "It's not over yet."

I looked pleadingly at him. "Please, no more food! Please!"

Seth laughed, "No, no more food." He stood up, walking behind me to the opposite side of the room. "Don't turn around." He commanded. I obliged, wrapping my arms across my full stomach. I heard muffled scrapings and scratchings, resisting the temptation to turn around and look. Suddenly, the scatchings turned to something else. A slow line of melody melted into my ears and I had to physically suppress the urge to turn around. The notes blended together so perfectly, it made me want to cry. I closed my eyes, allowing the music to seep into my mind. When I opened them, Seth was standing by my side, hand outstretched.

"May I have this dance?"

I stoop up slowly, biting my lower lip. "I… I've never…" Seth took my hand in his and led me away from the table, placing his other hand on my waist.

"Don't worry." He whispered in my ear, making my shudder with delight. "I'll lead."

We stepped in slow, circular movements in time to the music. I leaned my head on Seth's chest, not being tall enough to reach his shoulder. He hummed along to the music, leading me round and round the room. I glanced at the sound system in the corner and was surprised by what I saw.

"Vinal?"

"My father's. It hasn't been used since he died. Mum put it up in the attic and I found it when Quil and I were cleaning. Still works." He chuckled softly as I held him tighter.

"Do you miss him?"

"Every day." Seth sighed. "But less so, now that you're here; someone to distract me. Is that bad?"

"No. It's human." I smiled, leaning further against his chest and closing my eyes, breathing in his intoxicating scent.

"Good. One more human point for the freaky wolf boy."

I pinched him playfully. "What song is this anyway? I never took you for listening to classical music?"

"Clair De Lune. It's by Debussy."

I smiled against Seth's chest. "It's beautiful."

"Edward burnt me a CD a while ago. This was on it." Seth admitted. "Then I found it on vinal when we were cleaning and I thought, 'why not?' It's pretty."

"It is." I agreed. Seth chuckled. I looked up at him, wanting to be in on the joke. "What?"

"It's just… a story Edward told me, about this piece of music. How he played it to Bella, right back when they first met… I dunno; call me a superstitious fool but, I kinda think of it as a lucky charm."

"Superstitious fool." I teased.

"I don't know Krissy. it just came so naturally to them. I've never seen anyone as in love as those two."

"Except us." I pointed out

"Except us." He agreed.

I leaned my head against his chest once more, swaying against his burning body. After a while, I spoke again "I suppose, maybe, it's about time I met them I guess."

"Who?"

"Bella and Edward."

Seth lifted my chin with his finger. "You mean that?"

"Do you want me to?" I asked, uncertainly.

"Of course!" Seth stroked my hair with his free hand. "They're like my best friends, apart from the pack of course! And Jake will be thrilled you're finally meeting Nessie."

"Their daughter?"

Seth nodded. "You don't have to, of course. It's just…" I saw the enthusiasm in his eyes. "They're really cool. You'll like them. Everyone does."

I smiled at him. "Then, I suppose that settles it."

"Soon." Seth promised, gushing with enthusiasm and excitement. "We'll have another barbeque on the beach."

"In the cold?" I muttered, doubtfully.

"You'll have me. Personal radiator, remember?" Seth rubbed his nose against mine. "Plus vampires don't feel the cold."

I winced. "Can we not use the V word? It sounds so silly."

"I guess." Seth shrugged. "If you want. They won't hurt you though, I promise. They would rather die than-"

I cut him off. "I know. It's not that, it's just… I'm a simple, girl from a very small island where vampires and werewolves only exist in the pages of Harry Potter. Whilst I get the whole 'wolfy' thing, vampires – evil, blood sucking creatures by definition – are a little hard to grasp right now." Seth looked a little hurt. I hastened to comfort him. "But I'll get there, Seth-o. You know I will."

He smiled.

"I know." He agreed, leaning forward to press his lips to mine. At once, the world melted. The warm room became stifling. My knees buckled and I could feel that Seth's arms were the only things holding me up. The music reached a dramatic climax as Seth lifted me up and held me, lip locked, in the light of the moon.

* * *

**Ta-dah! Cute or what? I love writing the fluffy, mushy chapters. I'm almost done writing the next chapter so it should be up soon. **

**Please review. I'm very happy that so many of you have favourited this story, and put it on your alert list but please, if you have, just leave a review with your thoughts. I love to know what you all think and what could be improved on. Thank you!**

**Rose x**


	8. Chapter Eight: Slip of the tongue

**Hello everyone. Well this is it... the big one. Probably the longest chapter I've ever written (40 pages on microsoft word!) If it's too long and boring, I'm sorry. I just thought it would be nice to have an appearance from (most of) the Cullens, as we all love them so. And so I wanted a lot of interacting. I hope you don't get bored, because this is really the crux of the whole story (kinda) so stick with it :)**

**Disclaimer: the usual. Thank you Ms Meyer.**

* * *

_Krista Hughes_

It was on a frosty morning late that December at the beginning of the Christmas holidays when I finally agreed to meet the Cullens. Seth had arranged another beach barbeque with all the Quileute members (plus girlfriends) and all the Cullens. I was incredibly apprehensive.

Seth had told me the legends and all the stories: the true ones and the myths. He told me how 'the cold ones' were evil creatures that lived off human blood, but that the Cullens were different: they _only _drank the blood of animals. While he assured me that I would be completely safe around them, I wasn't fully convinced. Creatures that were bad by definition were a lot harder to adapt to than cute, fuzzy werewolves created to protect the human race. It wasn't that I didn't trust Seth's judgement; it was just… what if one of them decided that I looked a little tastier than the others and decided to do away with me anyway? What would I do then? Seth said that they were super fast, super strong and pretty much super everything, so I would have no chance of fighting or running away. Vampires seemed like, pretty much, the perfect predators.

"You'll be _fine._" Seth assured me as he climbed into my van. "They'll love you."

"S'not what I'm worried about." I muttered under my breath. Naturally Seth heard.

"Then what? Afraid they'll eat you?" He laughed. I stayed silent. He looked at me incredulously. "You _are _afraid of them eating you, aren't you!"

I glared at him as I started up the van. "I can't help it. They're blood sucking _Vampires _for goodness sake!"

"Yeah, but not the sort you read about in books."

"Funny how the vampires in books are a lot easier to kill. Turns out real ones are like super-vamps, without the garlic, crucifixes, stakes or sunlight. Fabulous." I snorted sarcastically.

"You won't want to destroy them once you meet them." Seth was obviously trying not to laugh.

"How do you know? They might take one look and decide to have me as a quick bite before lunch."

"They won't, Kris."

"How do you know that?" There was a slight edge of hysteria in my voice that I wasn't doing very well to contain.

"Because they're my friends, because I trust them and because none of them have harmed a human being for several years now."

I harrumphed. He made a good point. "But what if…" I worded my sentiments carefully. "Hypothetically speaking, what if I smell especially good to someone? Like you said Bella did to Emund-"

"Edward."

"S'what I said. _Edward_. So yeah, what if I smell _that_ good to Jasper? He's the newest one, isn't he? Well?"

"Then he will be restrained enough to get himself away from you. Anyway, Alice would see it coming first."

_Darn, foiled again. _It seemed there was no getting out of this now. I made a final bid for freedom. "Fine. But what if-"

"Krissy, Krissy, Krissy." Seth chuckled as I turned my attention back to the road. "How many times do I have to tell you? They are not going to suck your blood!"

"All right!" I shouted, a little too loudly. "I've agreed to meeting them haven't I?"

We fell silent for a few minutes, both staring at the road ahead. I had wrapped up warm, anticipating the cold. The scarf was partly for warmth, and partly to keep my neck covered. I didn't want any stray teeth lodging themselves in it. I reached forward to turn on the radio, my cold hand shivering as I twisted the dial to find a radio station. Seth noticed it shivering and leaned towards me, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Gerrof! Seth, I'm driving!" I squealed, trying to sound angry, but failing. He just snuggled closer, being very careful not to disrupt my steering.

"I'm keeping you warm." He mumbled into my neck, snuffling at me with his centrally heated nose. I giggled.

"Seth, that tickles! Seth!" I pushed his face lightly away with my hand. Suddenly I registered what was on the radio and groaned loudly. "Ughh!"

"What?" Seth looked at me, shocked. "What's wrong?"

"This music." I complained.

"What about it?"

"It's 'A-Punk' by a band called Vampire Weekend."

"So?"

"_Vampire_ Weekend, Seth. Vampire!" I groaned again. "I was trying to forget about my upcoming fate for just a second."

"You're way too sensitive Kris. Lighten up! It's going to be fun!" Seth twisted the dial on the radio anyway, to satisfy me. Classical music blasted through my speakers instead. Seth laughed. "Well, Edward will be impressed anyway."

I rolled my eyes. "I forgot. He's the vamp with a thing for Debussy, right?"

Seth gave my shoulders a squeeze, nodding. "Just stop worrying. You'll be fine. They'll be fine. Everything will be _fine!_"

I laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Ok. You can tell that to my parents once I become lunch."

"You know I'd never let anyone hurt you?" Seth whispered, suddenly serious.

"I know." I replied in a similar soft voice. "I trust you."

"I love you."

"That too." I heard Seth chuckle into my ear as I pulled up the hand break, taking a deep breath.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." I swallowed loudly. Seth squeezed my hand.

"Come on. You'll love them, I promise."

We walked, hand in hand, from the van in the direction of the beach. Seth's palm was burning in my own cold one, but I didn't mind. It wasn't even that cold out, but somehow the thought of these un-dead, frozen vampires was giving me goose bumps. My free hand unconsciously flitted to my neck, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Seth.

"Please stop worrying Kris. You're making _me _nervous!"

"I can't help it." I whispered, the breath catching in my throat. I never usually got this nervous. I didn't know what was wrong with me. Seth suddenly stopped walking, pulling me round to face him.

"You don't have to do this." He said seriously. "If you're genuinely not ready to meet them I'll take you home and we can say you're sick. Spend the say on the settee, bumming around." It was an attractive proposition. "If that's what'll make you happy, then we'll do it. I just don't want you to miss out on an opportunity to make friends. I _know _you'll love Bella. You totally will. And I would feel so bad if you regretted not meeting them. But, if you don't want to yet… if this is all too much… then we'll go home and I'll reschedule."

His gorgeous dark eyes bored into me and I melted. "No Seth. It's fine. I'm just all jittery for no reason. I'm sure I'll love them… all of them." I smiled at him. "Just stick by me, ok?"

Seth gave me a huge grin. "I'm not going anywhere." Picking up my right hand and pressing it briefly to his lips, we strode towards the camp.

There was a blazing fire on the beach. Bigger than last time. It was taller than me and blazed like a beacon, cutting through the grey sky and cream-coloured sand.

It was days like this when I remembered that I loved La Push.

It was definitely more crowded than last time too. There were faces I recognised and some I definitely didn't. Beautiful faces. Pale faces. Intensely intimidating faces. I moved closer to Seth as we approached, holding onto his hand tightly. He kissed the top of my head as we got nearer, before waving to a tall, auburn haired boy. I guessed that must be Edward. The boy moved towards us with impossible speed and grace. It was like he'd hardly moved his legs at all and then suddenly he was in front of us.

"Kris." His voice was deep, husky, melodical and utterly beautiful. "Lovely to meet you at last." He extended a hand. I took it, shocked a little at the cold. It was like touching a stone statue. He chuckled throatily. I forgot he was a mind reader. "You'll get used to the temperature. It takes some time adjusting after spending so much time with these dogs." He punched Seth on the shoulder, grinning at him. I looked up at Seth who was grinning back, though his grip round my shoulders had become that little bit tighter. Maybe I had made him too nervous. Edward suddenly gestured to a girl behind him, pulling her forward. "Meet my Bella." He said with pride.

My jaw dropped that little bit further. If I had thought Leah beautiful, this girl was a goddess: small and lithe, with dark hair and almost translucently pale skin; eyes a liquid gold. I inwardly groaned. My efforts to look nice seemed completely futile. Around Bella, I realised I must look like a scruffy rag doll.

Bella herself moved towards us with the same graceful speed as Edward, but instead of extending a hand, as her husband had done, she immediately scooped me into a hug, breaking me away from Seth. I felt a pang in my gut.

"Krista!" I could hear the smile in her heavenly voice. "Seth's told us all about you." She stepped back, smiling at me warmly. "You're even prettier than he said you were."

I grimaced. Maybe vampire's eyesight wasn't as good as Seth had told me it was. Edward chuckled again and I groaned out loud.

"You know that mind reading thing is pretty irritating, don't you?" I demanded, agitated. This only prompted Edward to laugh louder. Bella too.

"You'll get used to it." She winked at me. "Or so I'm told."

"Try sharing your thoughts with a whole pack full of people." Growled Seth playfully, reattaching himself to me.

"Life is _so_ hard isn't it." Bella's laugh sounded like wind chimes: light and carefree. She fixed her piercing amber stare on me. "I'd like you to meet our daughter." She said, smiling. "I left her with Jacob. Come!"

She led us over to the other side of the camp, where _the _most gorgeous child imaginable peeked at me out from behind Jacob. Her hair fell in perfect, bronze coloured ringlets around her face and her dark eyes shone as she smiled at me. Even if no one had told me, I would have known she was Edward and Bella's child. She was the spitting image of the pair of them. I heard Jacob's little 'whoop' as he saw me.

"You made it!" He called, lifting the child up and walking over to us. "We waited long enough!" His easy laugh relaxed me and I gave him my best grin.

"Hey Jake. Long time no see."

"Krista, you saw me on Friday." He rolled his eyes, showing off his perfect teeth as he grinned.

"Yeah but I count one day without seeing a Quileute as a long time." I laughed. "You're everywhere!"

Jacob shrugged. "Can't argue with that. You met Nessie?"

Bella reached forward to take the child from Jacob's arms. I couldn't help but notice him frown a little as she did so, seeming more than slightly unwilling to give her up. But relinquish her he did and Bella was the one who brought Nessie over to meet me.

"This is Renesme." She said proudly.

"Hello Krista." The five year old spoke in a voice that sounded mature, way beyond her years.

"Hey Nessie." I bit my lip, unsure as how to talk to her. Like an adult? Or like a toddler? "Umm. You enjoying the beach?"

Nessie's ringlets bounced as she nodded. "It's lovely here. I come all the time. I can show you if you like." She looked up at her mother, as if needing permission for something. Bella hoisted Renesme onto her hip and looked me in the eye.

"Has Seth explained Renesme's gift?" She asked cautiously. I nodded weakly.

"Kinda." I looked round at Seth who was standing right behind me. He smiled and gave my hand a squeeze.

"Go ahead." He whispered.

I looked back at Bella and her beautiful daughter and took a deep breath. "I'm ready." I said, not knowing quite what to expect.

Bella moved closer to me, so much so I could feel how cold her skin was, even from the distance between us. She held Renesme in between our two bodies and the little girl stretched out her hand to touch my face. All of a sudden my vision was a wash of colour. Images flicked through my mind, like I was watching some silent movie on fast-forward: Nessie on the beach; Nessie playing with Jacob; Nessie laughing as she skipped along the white sand between her mother and father. She pulled her little hand back and the images disappeared.

"Wow." I breathed. "That was… wow."

Renesme laughed, delighted. When I looked up at Bella, she too was smiling.

"Nessie tends to have that effect on people." She admitted. I could hear Edward laughing also.

"Touching as this moment is and all…" Jacob cut in, fidgeting irritably, "Nessie and I have a sandcastle competition to get back to so, if you'll excuse us…" He reached forward to snatch Renesme from her mother's arms. Bella growled a little, but made no attempt to hold the child back.

"Bye Krista." Nessie's musical voice sang to me as Jacob dragged her away. "It was nice meeting you."

I sighed contentedly, feeling Seth's arm snake round my shoulders once more. "How old did you say she was again?" I asked, gazing at the two playing happily in the sand.

"Technically, just two." Seth said. "But in vampire hybrid terms?" I felt him shrug. "Who knows? Probably around five or six."

I sucked my teeth. "The girls at school are gonna _hate _her." I said, mock-seriously.

Bella gave me a funny look, but I could see Edward grinning over her shoulder. "What do you mean?" She asked, clearly confused.

"She's way too pretty for her own good. She'll be fighting off the boys." I half-smiled at the couple. Bella laughed with relief.

"Oh I don't think the boys will bother her too much." She said.

"They'd have to get through Jacob first and I don't like their chances." Edward agreed. I wrinkled up my nose.

"Figures. What is he, the protective uncle figure?"

Bella and Edward exchanged a glance. "Sort of." Bella glanced up at the sky.

"For the moment." Edward finished. I was about to question this further when a squeal came from behind me.

"KRISSY!"

I whipped round. A screaming five and a half year old came hurtling towards me.

"Claire-pie!" I grinned, scooping up the child who threw her pudgy little arms round my neck.

"Krissy, Krissy, Krissy." Claire sang, laughing into my shoulder. "I missed you!"

"Missed you too sweetie. How've you been?"

"Fine fankyou." Clair grinned, revealing a gap in her teeth.

"Hey, Claire-pie! You're missing a tooth! Did the tooth-fairy come to visit?" I chucked her under the chin. She nodded emphatically.

"Yup. I got a quarter!"

I gasped. "A whole quarter! Wow! Don't you go spending it all at once." I said seriously.

Claire shook her tiny head. "I won't. I'm saving up."

"What for?"

"A pony." She grinned her gap-toothed grin again.

"You don't need a Pony Claire. You've got me, remember?" A familiar voice came from behind me.

"Well if it isn't mister porcupine." I smiled. "Hey Quil."

Quil leaned over to pull me into a bear hug, Claire still in my arms. "Hey, hey Kristopher. Glad you could make it." I detached myself from the giant boy, leaving Claire safely in his arms.

"Don't let Seth hear you calling me Kristopher again." I laughed. "Remember what happened last time?"

Quil pulled a face. He certainly did remember.

Quil had adopted the pet name a couple of weeks back. Seth knew it was all fun and games, but sometimes – being the over protective wolf-boy he is – he gets a little pissed off when people mock me, even when it's Quil. So once, after Quil had made a 'boys name' comment for the umpteenth time, Seth had put blue hair dye in his shampoo. Quil's hair looked like sonic the hedgehog was sitting on top of his head. It was absolutely _hilarious. _He had come charging over to Seth's that afternoon after showering and screamed at him. He got so angry he phased, only to find that, because of the hair, his wolf-form was no longer a lovely chocolate brown, but a startling (and completely comical) blue.

Needless to say, Quil didn't have too fond a memory of his 'blue' week.

"Ugh. Don't tell him. Will you Kris?"

I laughed. "Course not. Though you're the ones that can read each other's thoughts."

Quil groaned. "Dang. I totally forgot."

"Easy thing to forget." I joked sarcastically. I gazed over at my wolf-boy who was talking to Edward by the roaring fire, glancing nervously over at me every now and them. I reassured him with a smile.

"You must be Kris."

I started, completely taken by surprise, jerking around to try and place the disembodied voice. A tiny, pixie-like girl with pale skin and spiky brown hair smiled warmly at me.

"I'm Alice." She notified me, enthusiastically. I grinned sheepishly.

"Another Cullen." I guessed. "The one with the visions?"

"Yep." Alice wiggled her dainty fingers at me. "Voodoo magic." She giggled and I couldn't help but laugh with her. The Cullen's were awfully easy to be myself around and I found that I was completely at ease with them. Alice steered me towards a tall blonde boy, who I supposed to be:

"Jasper?"

He fixed me with a piercing topaz stare. At once I realised the source of my comfort. Seth had warned me of Jasper's ability to make people feel calm, or get excited.

He pulled a little half-smile; obviously realising I was onto him. "Just thought it'd make the whole ordeal that bit easier." He explained.

"Thanks." I said, genuinely flattered by the concern. "But it's not an ordeal. At least, not as much as I thought it was going to be." Jasper laughed quietly. "I really like your family." I said, blushing. That sounded stupidly cheesy I realised.

A familiar hand crept into my own. Seth was back.

"Hey stinky." Alice greeted my boy. Seth winked at her.

"How's my favourite Vampire?" He said with a smirk.

"Dunno. Go ask him." Alice nodded smugly towards Edward, who grinned at us across the fire. Seth laughed.

"You know who I meant."

"I know." Alice gave Seth a brief hug. "We're really glad you two came."

"Why, did you think we wouldn't?" I asked, curious.

"Well…" Alice dragged out the vowel of the word. "You couldn't seem to make up your mind. The future kept changing. One minute you were coming, the next minute you were going to stay at home and watch…" She screwed up her face. "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."

I gasped. "I completely had a craving for watching that earlier!"

Seth rolled his eyes and I distinctly heard him mutter "Stupid kids movie." I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Anyway, like I said. We're all glad you came." Alice grabbed Jasper's hand. "But Renesme's just made up her mind that she wants to go swimming so I need to go stop Jacob from letting her." She winked at me. "Catch ya later."

I waved the two off, before Seth pulled me into a hug, looking me in the eye. "Are you having fun?" He asked seriously. "Because if this is too much, we can still go watch Shitty Shitt-OW!" I pinched him hard.

"That, young man, happens to be one of my favourite films of all time."

"Seriously Kris? Dick Van Dyke is so lame- OWCH! JEEZ!" I had pinched him again.

"Dick Van Dyke was my childhood hero so you can shut it."

"What kind of childhood did you lead?" Seth grinned wickedly at me. I could tell he was winding me up.

"Oh yeah? Well at least I didn't worship Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." I was determined to hold me own in this argument.

Seth gasped. "You found my comics?!?"

"Under your bed. Not an amazing hiding place." _Thank you Quil Atera._ I mentally smiled. "And as far as heroes go. Dick Van Dyke would so kick your Terrapin's arse."

"No way, man. Michael Angelo could wipe the floor with him! He'd be known as Dick Van Owch."

I groaned. "_That_, Seth Clearwater, was a terrible pun."

"Can't blame a guy for trying." I could feel the smile in his kiss as he bent his head down towards mine.

"Silly sod." I muttered, stretching my hands up to wind themselves round Seth's neck. I played with a lock of hair, twisting it round my fingers as he nuzzled my cheek and placed fluttering kisses down my neck, causing my heart to keep skipping beats. I was in danger of it stopping altogether when a tap on my shoulder interrupted our 'intimate' moment.

I turned to face the interrupter, sighing grumpily. It was Alice – again.

"Sorry to break up the moment." She said brightly, clearly not sorry at all. "But I thought I ought to warn you that Leah's coming to talk to you."

I groaned. "Did you have a vision that this would happen?"

"Nope." Alice grinned wickedly. "I saw her walking in your direction. She's coming now." Seth looked over my shoulder.

"Dang. She's right." He looked at me, an embarrassed expression plastered onto his pretty face. "Sorry Krissy. Whatever she's about to say, I'm apologising for in advance." Despite having been dating Seth for three months now, and spending a lot of time at his house, Leah had made the point of spending as little time with us as possible. I thought that maybe she'd have grown to like me after that first day at the beach, or at least have gotten used to having me around. But unfortunately, she couldn't have made it more clear that she didn't approve of me at all. Seth said it was just because she was jealous she hadn't found herself a man yet, but I was starting to think that maybe it was just something about me.

I butted his chest softly with my forehead, sighing into his t-shirt.

"Bring it on." I murmured weakly. Seth kissed my hair.

"Hey Leah." His greeting was my prompt to turn round and face the beast. Her dark eyes gave me a withering look and I blushed a deep scarlet.

"So you made it… eventually." Leah smirked. "Can't say we missed you."

"What do you want Leah?" Seth growled, irritated already.

"Nothing!" Leah raised her hands in a gesture of defence. "Aren't I allowed to say hello to my baby brother and his-"

"Leah!" Seth was whining now. "I'm not a baby." So sibling rivalry was still alive and well in the United States of America.

"Hi Leah." I said meekly, trying to be polite and resisting the urge to punch the pretty woman at the same time.

Leah nodded at me. "Hey Kristopher. I heard that's what we're calling you now."

I shook my head, grabbing Seth's wrist and holding it by his side to stop him from punching his sister. "No, that's just Quil. And you saw the reward he got for it."

"I could pull off blue." Leah flicked her cropped hair contemptuously. "Trust Atera to be a baby about it."

A growl came from over by the fireside. So Quil had heard that then.

"Go and annoy someone else Leah." Seth whined.

"Like who?" Leah snarled back. "I don't mix with leeches."

"Then why did you bother coming?"

"Maybe mom made me."

"Since when did you ever do what mom said?"

"Since she promised to buy me my own car if I agreed to make more of an effort with people."

"Well good job Leah. The effort thing is really working."

"Stupid runt."

"Bitter harpy."

"Okay folks lets break it up!" I tried to lighten the tone, placing both my palms on Seth's chest and pushing him away from his sister. The two had seemed to stalk closer to each other during their argument, growling and visibly seething. The temperature was so warm I was afraid one of them was going to phase.

"Just get lost Leah." Seth spat.

"Fine. Like I came here to see you anyway. I get enough of your ugly mug at home." Leah snarled back, glaring at me with her dark, piercing eyes before turning and stalking off in the direction of the mainland. Seth sighed with relief as she left.

"Ugh. You're so lucky to be an only child."

I laughed. "I guess I am. I couldn't imagine having to deal with someone like Leah all the time."

Seth stared after his sister, cooling off slightly. "Was I too mean? I always feel guilty after we argue."

"Don't feel guilty." I assured him. "You don't argue _that _much, do you?"

"No." Seth admitted. "We don't. Normally she's ok at home. When it's just her and me. But around other people, she tries to be all tough: a hard nut. She probably just came over to say hi-"

"She was kinda rude." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's Leah." Seth shrugged. "I know I shouldn't say this but… well after Sam and Emily's wedding she thought about leaving. Mom made her stay but…" He sighed. "I think it would be a good idea if she left."

I was slightly shocked. "Seth! She's your sister! Wouldn't you miss her?" Though the thought of anyone missing Leah was almost inconceivable to me.

"Well yeah. 'Course I would. But I think it's the best thing for her. She should move away: to the city. Get a job. Be a better person. La Push… well… it's crushing her spirit."

I hugged Seth. "Maybe you should talk to her about it?"

"Maybe." He agreed, hugging me back. "But whatever. This is meant to be _your _day. Who haven't you met yet?"

"Umm." I scanned the faces in the crowd. "Are those Edward's parents?" I pointed to a couple chatting to Emily and Sam. The woman looked up instantly, as if she'd heard me mention her. Definitely a vampire then.

"Yeah, that's Esme and Carlisle." Seth grabbed my hand. "Come meet them!"

Esme smiled warmly at me as we approached.

"You must be Krista."

I nodded "Nice to meet you Mrs Cullen."

The woman laughed. "Please call me Esme. 'Mrs Cullen' makes me feel so old."

I laughed too. "I bet you're older than you look."

"Now who gave you that idea?" Esme's sarcastic comment prompted a soft chuckle from the man next to her who, upon my looking up at him, extended a hand.

"Carlisle." He said. "Glad to have you as part of the family."

"Family?" I questioned dubiously.

"I count our friends on the reservation as extended family." Carlisle clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder, who grinned at me. "They've been here for us when we needed them most and we owe them a lot. They have done more than a normal family member would."

Seth had explained that, since the fight for Renesme's life against the Volturi, a strong bond had been formed between the Cullens and the shape shifters and thus the treaty had been lifted. It was especially strong between Sam and Carlisle, who had more in common than they'd previously thought. The friendship between the two was obvious now, shown by the easy laughter and sharing of jokes.

"I suppose we are family," added Sam, chuckling. "Though you're a damn sight stinkier than normal brothers and sisters."

Carlisle laughed heartily. "I'll make sure to buy you a nose plug for Christmas." He joked.

"You all smell the same to me." I smiled, blushing again.

Sam laughed, if possible, even harder. "I like this girl. Indifferent. Very sensible line to take."

Emily suddenly stepped out from behind Sam, pulling me into a hug. "Heart of gold this one."

I grimaced into her shoulder. "I'm really not all that." I whispered.

"You are." She said softly back. "And more."

My grimace did not lessen as we broke apart and I felt Seth's bulky arm wrap itself around me once more.

"We're off to get food." He said decidedly. "Can I get you guys anything?"

Carlisle gave him as look as if to say '_very funny Seth Clearwater'_ as both Sam and Emily shook their heads.

"We'll come over when we're ready." Promised Sam. "You kids go ahead."

"Makes a change from me cooking for you all!" Laughed Emily at our retreating backs.

My mind was so distracted that I hardly registered the enormous mountain of food piled on the camp table: steaming sausages and thick burgers, bread, butter, ketchup, mustard, cooked onions, pickle, cold boiled eggs, rice salad, jacket potatoes, corn on the cob, the list was endless. (ok, so when I say 'hardly registered' I kind of lied) Seth handed me a plate, piling it high with food, ignoring my protests, and dragging me over to a seat by the fire.

"You ok Krissy? You seem kinda distant." He paused from his eating to look at me, concerned. "You cold?"

"No, no. Nothing like that." I played with a bit of rice on the end of my fork. "It's just… what Carlisle and Sam were saying. I don't understand it all. I'm not worth all this fuss."

Seth looked utterly shocked and dumbfounded. "What do you mean you're not worth it?" He put his plate down on the sand by his feet, freeing his arm to put around my shoulder. "Never say that Krissy. You are totally worth everything!"

"No, I'm not!" I muttered, sounding ridiculous. "I'm not complaining. I'm flattered that everyone is being so nice but, it's just… they're all talking about me being a 'part of the family' and 'once of us' and well… I don't understand. I'm noting special at all!"

"Yes you are." Seth said seriously, seeming genuinely shocked that I was even thinking this.

"Seth! This world you live in… it's so different. _So _different. You're all these amazing, beautiful creatures with powers and abilities and gifts: you can run super fast, see like a hawk and hear like a bat. You're ridiculously hot or you're unbelievably cold. You can suck blood, turn into a wolf, read minds, tell the future, speak through thoughts…" I paused to catch my breath. "But what am I? Nothing. I'm just a human. I don't belong in this world."

"Yes you do!" Seth pressed his forehead against mine, as if he was trying to force me to believe him. "You completely and 100% do. You don't need any of those things because I love you anyway Kris, just the way you are. I love you so much and I love having you around. The others all know that and so, as far as they're concerned, you're part of the family. You know all our secrets, which is more than most humans do."

"But I don't fit Seth." I sighed. "I don't fit."

Seth was silent for a moment. He looked at the floor, tracing a pattern in the sand with his bare foot. "Kris, there's something I need to tell you." He said slowly.

I looked at him curiously. "Is it bad?"

"No." Seth looked me in the eye. "No, of course not. It's nothing bad. It's just… it explains a lot. It's probably something I should have-"

"Well if it isn't the love birds." Embry suddenly wrenched us apart, sitting in between our two bodies and grinning like the loony he was.

"Embry you git, ever heard of manners?" I growled at him. He shook his head, still grinning.

"Nope, what are they? Oooh!" He picked up Seth's abandoned food. "Mind if I?"

Seth threw his hands up, defeated. "Go ahead. It's not like I can stop you."

"Damn straight." Embry mumbled through a mouthful of potato.

"Bloody moron." I muttered under my breath.

"Thank you." Embry landed a huge, wet, slobbery, potato-ey kiss on my cheek.

"EURGHHH!" I stood up, wiping the slimy mess from my poor face. "God Embry! How OLD are you?"

"Older than I look." He winked at me. Seth shoved him.

"Oi! No one's allowed to do that to Kris except me." He stood up, reaching out for me to make his point. I darted just out of reach.

"Nope. No more slobbery wolf-kisses. This human had had enough. I'm going to wash." I sprinted in the direction of the sea to give my face a good once over with the salt water. I didn't want Embry germs festering on my skin. Yuck. I noticed Renesme and Jacob pottering about in the water a little in front of me. Alice must have lost that battle then. The water was freezing and I was glad that Nessie had Jacob near her to keep her so warm.

I wondered why Jacob spent so much time with Nessie. I mean, sure him and her mother were best friends, but he spent more time with her than any normal relative would. Their relationship was something unlike I had ever come across. It was indisputable that he loved the child, but it was almost like there was something more; something holding him to her; something that made it almost impossible for him to leave her, even for a minute. It reminded me of Quil and Claire.

I splashed more water on my face, shivering a little at the cold. These Quileute lads and their strange relationships; I doubted I would ever understand them. But maybe I didn't need to. As I had said to Seth earlier, I wasn't part of this world. I didn't belong here and I doubted I would be included in it forever. It felt like… like me being amongst these people, accepted as one of them… well it _felt_ like a permanent thing. But there was no way I could guarantee that. Whilst I was sure that I would be happy to spend the rest of my life with Seth, I didn't know if it was even possible. Would he ever grow older? Or was I doomed to waste away until I got too old to be deemed attractive, too old for him to love me any more?

I shuddered at the thought.

"Krista!" Alice's voice came from my left. It sounded strange: calling me by my full name. I was so used to having to correct everyone until it became second nature to call me Kris, but the whole of today I hadn't bothered put anyone right. Most people had greeted me as 'Krista' and I hadn't even noticed. I smiled to myself. Seth had changed me in more ways than he would ever know.

I turned to face Alice. "Hey." I said. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Alice said brightly. "Just wanted to say hi."

"Hi." I smiled, drying my wet hands on the sleeves of my cardigan and looking at the sand, bashfully.

"So tell me about yourself." Alice seemed genuinely enthusiastic. "I want to know all about you!"

"Seriously?" I looked at her dubiously. "I'm nothing special." I hoped she wouldn't object to my conclusion as much as Seth had. To my relief she merely shrugged.

"I like meeting people, and I saw us being really good friends in the future. _Really _good friends." She smiled broadly. "Why not speed up the process?" She gestured up the beach. I nodded once, returning the smile.

"Sure." We began to walk along the sand. I took off my wellies and socks, leaving them near the camp. I liked the feel of sand between my toes.

We talked about little things. She told me how she became a vampire… well, what little about it she had learned from James. She told me about meeting Jasper and filled me in on all the little details Seth had forgot to mention about the Cullens in general. In turn, she demanded to know everything about me and, to my surprise, I did exactly as instructed. I told her everything about myself. I even told her about the divorce. I think it was something about her story that put my life into perspective – like Seth had said. It made it easier to talk about.

I know I shouldn't have been surprised, Seth had told me many times never to bet against Alice, but she was completely right when she said we were going to be friends. We had a lot in common and I found talking to her natural as breathing. I could see us being friends in the future. She said that Jasper liked me too. She said he liked to be around cheerful people; and apparently my aura was pretty positive. It was people like me and Seth that gave Jasper a buzz. I didn't know quite how that worked, but I trusted Alice. I also knew that me being an apparently 'chirpy' person had a lot to do with having Seth in my life. Again, my mind turned back to the same dilemma I had been considering earlier: why me?

"So you should definitely come visit us more." Alice had chirruped at me. "I mean, I don't think we're moving for a while. We talked about it: Nessie is nearly old enough to go to school… and for obvious reasons we're going to have to move when that time comes. But for the moment, we're staying. Carlisle and Esme have probably got another good decade here, maybe a little less. Eventually the botox rumours start flying, that's when you know you have to move." She let out a little giggle. "But until then… come visit!"

"I will." I promised, reverently meaning it. Alice had described the house and it sounded amazing. "When are your brother and sister visiting again?" I had heard the name 'Emmett' mentioned.

"Oh soon!" Alice bleated happily. "A couple of weeks I think. They went on a tour of South-America. Did I tell you?"

"Twice." I laughed.

"Oops." Alice giggled along with me. "Sorry. I'm just excited to see them."

"Do you mind having to move around so much?" I asked, thinking about the move from the UK to here, and how much it had rattled me. "I think I'd find it difficult."

"It's never really bothered me before." Alice conceded. "But I like it here. We've lived here a long time, granted. But I'd be sad to leave." She sighed. "But sooner or later there comes a time. I've heard there's a nice place up in Canada: called Hinton. I think we've decided to head there next."

"Canada?" I exclaimed. "But that's…"

"Miles, I know." Alice pouted. "It wasn't my idea. But Nessie liked the sound of it, and Jacob agreed, on account of it not being too far-"

"Jake would go too?" I interrupted, the thought of Jacob leaving making my insides squirm.

"Yes, he would." Alice said softly. "Bella, Edward, Nessie and Jacob would all go. Jasper and I would probably go too. I want to see Renesme grow up."

"But… why Jacob? I mean, I don't understand." I wrinkled my nose. "His home is here!"

"Yes, but." Alice made a face. "It's complicated. Him and Nessie… well." She trailed off lamely. I made a frustrated little grunt.

"You're so secretive. I thought Seth had told me everything, but it still seems like there's something I'm missing." I kicked at a pebble with my big toe.

"You'll learn soon enough." Alice nudged me with her tiny shoulder, causing me to stumble a little. "You could always come with us."

"To Canada?" I asked, incredulous.

"Why not? You and Seth: Road trip. You both finish High School at the end of the year anyway. You could come stay with us for a while, before you figure out what you want to do with your life."

"Gap year." I mused. "I like the idea."

"Think on it." Grinned Alice. "We'd love to have you."

"I will." Suddenly I made a face, remembering someone I'd rather forget. "Ugh. Mum. She'd never let me."

Alice laughed; linking her arm through mine and guiding me back to camp. "We'll see to all that. Edward has been known to be very persuasive. Now come on. I don't need to be a fortune teller to know that if I don't return you to Seth soon he may eat me."

I laughed along with Alice, happy to have made a new friend, but equally happy to be returning to Seth. Sure enough, as soon as we started to get close to camp, Seth's sprinting figure could be seen to be streaking towards us. He barged into me, lifting me up and spinning me round.

"You were gone far too long." He grumbled, pulling me towards his chest.

"Mumphurgle." I mumbled into his t-shirt, held too tight to able to make discernable words.

"She says sorry." Alice chipped in, giggling.

"You." He pointed an accusatory finger at Alice. "Stole her from me."

He sounded serious, but I could tell he was joking… just about. "Gerrof me you loony." I pushed him away, enough to free my face, but not completely out of his embrace.

"Never." He grinned at me, hoisting me up to pull my face to his. I realised that half an hour was a long time to go without getting a kiss; I'd almost forgotten what he tasted like. I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer. I barely registered Alice's laughter from behind me.

"You'd think after spending so much time with Rose and Emmett, that I'd be used to this by now." She giggled. "But I'm not." She made a mock puking sound and a cool breeze by my right shoulder told me that Jasper her joined her. I didn't pull away from Seth.

"You two might want to breath soon." Jasper said in his quiet voice. Instinctively, I pulled back, blushing profusely.

"Oops." I bit my lip. "I kind of forget the basics when I'm with Seth."

I looked at Jasper and Alice to see the small pixie girl rolling her eyes. "It's just like Bella and Edward all over again." She sighed. "The mushy stuff. You'd think it'd wear off after a while."

"It doesn't." Jasper warned me, his face deadpanned. "They're still sickening to be around."

"Just like you two." Quipped Alice.

Seth stuck his tongue out at the pair of them. "You're just jealous." He grinned.

Jasper shook his head, almost exasperatedly. "Ye of little faith." He said, interlinking his fingers with Alice's. She looked up at him adoringly.

"When _we _get romantic, we make sure no one else is around." She said smugly.

"What, in case you induce vomiting?" Seth taunted, still grinning like a loon. Jasper chuckled in his soft voice.

"No. In case…" He leaned forward and muttered incomprehensibly into Seth's ear. Seth turned a violent shade of red.

"Oi!" I frowned. "Care to repeat that for the hard-of-hearing-human?"

Alice winked at me. "Tell you later" She mouthed.

"I'm hungry." Seth announced suddenly, pulling me towards him and steering me to the fireside.

"Again?" I exclaimed. "You just ate!"

"Like an hour ago, yeah." He grinned at me and I rolled my eyes. I waved over my shoulder to Alice and Jasper.

"Duty calls." I cried to them, smiling at the sound of Alice's high-pitched laughter as we walked away.

"Finally, I get you to myself." Seth pulled me to the fireside, sitting us both down on a log and nuzzling my cheek with his nose.

"I thought you were hungry." I purred at him.

"I am." He growled back. "But I have more immediate needs." He pressed his lips to mine, sliding his hand up my cheek to push my hair away from my face. Any objection I was about to make died in my throat. When Seth was this close to me, I tended to forget a lot of things. Including breathing.

Seth pulled away sharply, though keeping his face close. "You remembering to breath this time?" He chuckled.

I nodded numbly. "Just about."

"Good." He kissed me again. This time I forgot where I was completely and threw my arms around him, pulling him towards me roughly. I heard the chuckle in his ragged breath.

What interrupted us this time was the rumble of his stomach. We pulled apart, Seth blushing again. "Ugh. Being a ravenous werewolf really isn't all it's cracked up to be."

I laughed. "Go eat something." He pouted and I pushed him lightly. "I'll be here when you get back. I'm not going anywhere you moron." He looked longingly over at the food, then back at me. "Go on! Fetch!" I pointed at the table, laughing.

"Oi!" he ruffled my hair. "Fine I'm going. Don't. Move."

I made a motion over my chest with my finger. "Cross my heart. I'll wait right here."

Seemingly satisfied, Seth got up to retrieve food. His place was immediately taken by Bella. I gasped a little in fright; getting used to the vampire speed was still a little daunting.

"Sorry." She laughed. "I forget sometimes how bewildering this all was to me first time."

"It's fine." I tucked my hair behind my ear. "I'm getting used to it."

"You'll get there eventually." Bella smiled. "I did." There was a moment's pause before Bella spoke again. "So how do you like La Push? You moved here from the UK, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It's amazing here. Reminds me a lot of home actually: it's so green."

Bella laughed; a beautiful, light sound. It was so unfair. Even their voices were heavenly. "It took me a while to get used to this place. I moved here from Phoenix around…" She wrinkled up her perfect nose. "Three years ago?"

"Is Phoenix…" I made a face. My America geography wasn't really up to scratch.

"Hotter than here? Yes. Much. I used to miss the sun." She looked at the overcast sky. "I don't any more."

"Not at all?" I asked, curious. "I have to admit I do miss the sun a little. Not that Cambridge was any sunnier than here."

"Well, I suppose I sort of miss it. But if it was sunnier here, I wouldn't be able to go out that much."

I nodded knowingly. "The glittering thing? Seth mentioned it." She laughed.

"I'll show you some time. It's quite a sight. Edward does it better than me."

"Is it something you can be good at? Glittering I mean."

"What? Oh, no. It's just something that happens. I just think Edward looks particularly amazing in sunlight. Call it personal preference."

"More like biased judgement." I chuckled. Bella laughed with me.

"Oh I'm so glad to have met you Krista." She said sincerely. "I'm so glad Seth finally imprinted, after all this time. I thought he was never going t-" She suddenly trailed off, her face turning to stone, her fearful gaze glued to a point behind my left shoulder.

"Imprinted?" I turned my head to see Quil, Jacob and Embry sitting on a log a little way from us, all shaking their heads and waving their arms manically; mouthing the word 'no' over and over. They stopped dead still as soon as they noticed my stare, immediately looking at the ground and avoiding my gaze. I was completely confused. I looked back at Bella. "What do you mean by 'imprinted'?" If I wasn't worried before, the boys' reaction had just installed the fear of God in my heart. Bella just looked at a loss.

"Kris," She ran her hand through her long dark hair. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realise-"

"What's up?" Seth had wandered over to us, a plate of food in each hand. "Krissy, I brought us…" he trailed off at the look on my face.

"Seth?" I stood up. "What's imprinting?"

I could tell I wasn't going to like the answer to the question by the look on his face. I thought he was going to drop the plates he was carrying. He looked wildly at Bella who gave him the look of a kicked puppy.

"I didn't know you hadn't told her Seth! I'm so sorry!"

Immediately Edward was at her side, pulling her to her feet and putting a comforting arm around her. Seth had a pained expression on his face, like he was pleading with Edward. The vampire merely shrugged, as if to say 'sorry mate', before walking away. I noticed the other werewolves were keeping their distance. Seth turned his attention back to me.

"Krissy, I think this is-"

"You know this doesn't bode well, right?" I couldn't keep the sharp edge out of my voice as I interrupted him. "Everyone's reaction so far kind of makes me feel like there's something bad coming."

Seth put down the plates and reached for my hand. I folded my arm. "Explanation." I demanded.

"I think it's better if we go somewhere private to talk." He looked at me pleadingly and my heart melted slightly. I bit my lip. My anger and sharpness was just a cover for the inane fear I had bubbling inside of myself. It seemed irrational, but something – call it a gut instinct – told me I wasn't going to like what I was about to hear. 'Imprinted'. The word had a nasty, metallic taste in my mouth.

I nodded once, gesturing that he should lead us somewhere. He sighed again and moved towards the sea front. I followed. When we had gotten far away enough from the fire to have a little privacy, he turned to face me. The wind had picked up and the sky had grown darker. It was as if the weather was echoing my mood.

"Krista this is probably something I should have told you a long time ago." Seth hung his head, his bare feet scrunching and releasing, making shapes in the sand. I put my hands on my hips in, what I hoped was, an intimidating gesture.

"I don't understand." I demanded. "Bella said you had 'imprinted'. While I have no idea what that means or anything, something in Quil, Jake's and Em's reaction tells me it's something you weren't planning on telling me-"

"I was!" Seth cut in, his eyes meeting mine in an earnest gesture. "I was totally going to tell you. Oh man, I was _this _close to telling you earlier today." He pinched his fingers together to demonstrate exactly 'how close' he was. "But Embry interrupted."

"So tell me now." I said simply.

"It's…" Seth scratched his head. "It's complicated."

"So un-complicate it!" I was getting frustrated now. For all I knew 'Imprinting could be some strange, wolf disease!

"Well…it's like this…" Seth said. "You know I told you everything about the shape shifters and what made us different from humans?"

I nodded, numbly, unsure as to what to expect.

"Well, I wasn't completely truthful. I didn't tell you _everything._"

"So you lied to me?" I demanded; eyes wide open in disbelief. Seth hastened to correct me.

"No! No! Krissy! God, no! I never lied. I just… I wasn't sure how you'd take it… and… you'd handled everything else so well. I didn't want to ruin anything by making things more complicated. It's not really something I understand myself. It… I… I didn't know how to explain it."

"So try now." I growled, nastily. The hurt expression on Seth's face made me instantly regret my action.

"Please Kris. Don't get angry."

"I'm not angry!" I sighed. "Just confused. And worried." I added. "I feel like a lamb going to the slaughter."

"Me too." Seth confessed, chuckling nervously. This did not do _anything _to boost my confidence. What I needed to hear right now was '_don't worry Kris. Nothing bad's going to happen'_ not '_yeah, I feel like I'm about to crap my pants too'._ It worried me.

"Kris, I just want you to know… I love you. Whatever I tell you now, just remember that. What I'm about tell you doesn't change anything."

This I did _not _like. "Oh God." I murmured weakly "Just tell me quick. Like ripping off a plaster."

Seth chuckled nervously again. Then he looked up to the sky. "You remember what I told you about werewolves being different from humans: we don't age, we heal super quick. That stuff?"

I nodded.

"Well, we also go through this process called 'imprinting'. Well, not _all_ of us do. It's something that just happens by chance. It could happen to anyone, anywhere. It doesn't really matter." He grinned sheepishly at me and I had to fight off the urge to throw caution to the wind and leap into his arms, ignoring whatever it was he had to say. "I'm rambling aren't I..."

"Just a bit." I tried to keep my mouth as still as possible, for fear it would attach itself to his. Honestly, I am uncontrollable!

"Anyway this… imprinting… it's when, after you phase, you see someone and you just fall in love, instantly. At least, that's the way it was for me. I guess it was different for Quil and Jake but… it's like nothing matters any more. Like you're the only one-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." I held my hands up to stop him, a horrible feeling spinning and tumbling from the pit of my stomach. I felt sick. Lunch was about to make a reappearance. "I don't understand."

"It's just something that happens Kris. We can't help it. Sam imprinted on Emily, Jared on Kim. Jacob thought he was in love with Bella until he saw Nessie and imprinted on her. Quil and Claire…"

I cut him off again. "Wait, what you're trying to tell me is that you," I loathed to say the word "_imprinted _on me?"

Seth nodded slowly. "Yes Krista."

I suddenly became dizzy. The noise of the rolling waves became deafening; roaring in my ears. I clutched my hands to my stomach and gasped for breath.

"Kris." Seth reached for me, worry and hurt etched all over his face. I wrenched myself from his grip.

"You… you _imprinted _on me?" I repeated. "You _imprinted…_" I shook my head, trying to calm the storm in there. Seth reached for me again.

"Krissy…" he pleaded.

"Don't touch me!" I pushed him away from me. "You _imprinted _on me, and you never thought of telling me before… before _now?!" _I realised I was shouting. Seth stood there, looking lost and hopeless. Angry tears welled up in my eyes. "I should have known it was too good to be true. You would never have even bothered talking to me if you hadn't-"

Seth looked like I had slapped him in the face. "What? Kris, no! That's not-"

"You would never had even introduced yoursel…" I trailed off, realisation dawning in my eyes. "Quil!" I gasped. "Quil only came to talk to me because he knew you had…" I couldn't even bring myself to say the world anymore.

Seth looked at me miserably. "I caught your eye through the trees as you parked the van, on that first day of school."

I remembered the prickling sensation I had felt that day. It had happened then? THEN?

"Oh God." I put my hand to my head, then back to my stomach. "I don't even know what to say."

"Krissy. I'm so sorry. I should have explained earlier. Please don't be mad. I'm so, so sorry!" Seth was pleading now. "Please remember what I said. I love you Kris and nothing I said changes that-"

"What?" I glared at him. "You think you can just tell me that you…" I swallowed, forcing myself to say it "_imprinted _on me, and expect me to still believe that you genuinely…" I choked, unable to get out the words. I could feel the tears down my cheeks now, though they could have been raindrops.

"Krissy…" Seth looked like he was about to cry too. "It's not like that. Of course I love you. Let's go inside and talk about this."

Suddenly I started to laugh. Hysterical, uncontrollable laughter. My sides shook and a stabbing pain began in my stomach. I laughed so hard I thought I was going to split in half. "Oh God..." I managed to cough out. "I can't believe I fell for all this."

"Kris?" Seth was staring at me strangely, unsure of how to handle this new, hysterical girl. "Kris, are you OK?"

"Of course I am." I laughed, trying to fight the tears that were properly coursing down my cheeks now. "I should have known… all along… it was too good to be true."

"Wha-"

"LOOK AT ME!" I didn't let him finish. "Look at me, then look at yourself. We were never meant… _I _was never meant for you." I collapsed into another fit of laughter. "All this time I thought everything was perfect and all this time it was because it was just an illusion. You don't love me for me. You love me because of chance… I just 'happened' to be the one. You loved me before you even knew me… no… wait. You don't _love_ me. GOD I have to stop using that word!" I laughed again. Seth made as if to move towards me, but I stopped him with a look. "DON'T." I was breathing heavily. "Don't come near me."

I was being irrational. A tiny part of me knew that, but the rest of me didn't care. My world was falling apart. Seth… my world… my everything… I couldn't cope.

He didn't love me...

...

He didn't love me...

...

Oh God, he didn't love me...

"Krissy, you've got it all wrong. The imprinting… it's just a… a thing. I'm crap at explaining this but… why can't you understand? It's not just a random chance. It's-"

"_It's something that just happens by chance. It could happen to anyone, anywhere. It doesn't really matter."_ I spat at him, quoting his earlier words; all trace of humour gone. I wiped my eyes again, staring at the black smudges of smeared mascara left on the back of my hand.

"I didn't mean that." Seth said quietly.

"But that's what it is. You never _wanted_ to get to know me, or spend time with me or even fall in love with me. You never even had a choice. It was just something you _had _to do. Because you're a freak."

Seth looked like I'd punched him in the stomach, hard. "You don't mean that." He whispered.

"Oh I mean it." I sneered. "I mean every word." My ears were filled with a strange, choking, sobbing sound. Appalled, I realised it was coming from my own mouth. I was hysterically sobbing and I couldn't stop myself. I looked into Seth's eyes, all fight suddenly gone. "Why Seth?" I sobbed. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Before I fell so deep."

Seth pulled me towards him, against his chest, holding me tightly as I choked sob after wracked sob into his chest. "Why couldn't you love me, for me?" I whispered into his sodden t-shirt – though whether it was wet from my tears or the rain I wasn't sure.

"But I do Krista. I do."

"Stop it." I muttered, wiping my cheeks angrily and pushing myself away. Seth held me fast. "Let go." I demanded.

"No." Seth sounded urgent; he lent forward and pressed his forehead against mine. "I love you Krista."

"Stop it." I repeated, louder this time.

"No. I mean it. I mean every word. I love you."

"Stop it!" I shouted, pushing him violently away.

"I love you."

"STOP IT!" I screamed, slapping him hard across the face. He stumbled back a few steps, stunned. "YOU DON'T LOVE ME! YOU _IMPRINTED _ON ME! THERE'S A BIG, FAT DIFFERENCE, SETH CLEARWATER! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME!"

I turned on my heel and made as if to storm away. The camp fire had been put completely out and everyone had made for the shelter of Emily and Sam's, save Quil, Jacob and Embry, who were standing by the grassy dunes, patiently waiting. Suddenly, Seth's voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Your name is Krista Elizabeth Hughes. You were born on the 14th of March. You moved here from Cambridge, England. Your favourite colour is yellow. You like the smell of clean washing and grass after the rain. You hate kiwi fruit and people who don't smile. You cry at books but never at films. You hide behind your hair, which always smells of herbal essences by the way, but you tuck it behind your ears when you think no one's looking. You prefer hanging around with guys than girls because they're less bitchy and easier to get on with. You like English lit. You hate math. You doodle, mainly flowers. You always wanted a dog but never had one, but you miss your pet rabbit Billy. Your favourite book is _Chocolat_ by Joanne Harris. You miss your dad but are learning to live with your mother. You ride bikes, you like Orlando Bloom. You watch crappy, English comedy shows and your life ambition is to climb Mount Everest. You want to go to spain, you want to go bungee jumping, you want to learn to snowboard and always feel guilty that you don't practice your guitar enough. You wish you were taller, you wish you were skinnier and you never know how beautiful you really are.

"I love you Krista Hughes. With all my heart I do. You may think I don't know you, but I do and I love you for just being you."

I turned to see Seth, on his knees on the sand, hands clasped as if in prayer. His hair was stuck to his forehead and it was impossible to tell whether he was crying or not for all the rain. His eyes were glassy and sad, his chest heaving from his heavy breathing.

I felt my chest heave in a final sob. "It's not enough." I said, shaking my head. I felt like someone had thrown a thick, rusty spear through my chest and pierced it all the way through.

"Please Krista." I could hear the sob in Seth's voice. "Please don't go."

"It's over Seth."

And with that I turned and ran. I ran faster than I ever had in my life. My clothes were sodden and heavy and with every step I took away from Seth I felt physical pain. It was like the cord that had been tied between us was being pulled to extremities, in danger of snapping altogether, and all I wanted to do was to turn and cut that cord with the biggest, and sharpest pair of scissors in existence.

_Imprinting. _That one, stupid little word had changed everything. And it hurt _so much. _I had always thought myself insufficient; not good enough for Seth. I always knew that I had never fit, but somehow, he made me believe otherwise. He had managed to convince me that I was part of that perfect little world… _his _perfect little world. But now it was clear. If he hadn't imprinted on me, Quil would never have spoken to me; I would never have been noticed by them. The Quileute's would have ignored me like they ignored everyone else in school and I would have been forced to befriend the blonde brigade. Quil… my best friend. He would never have bothered with me if it weren't for the _imprinting. _

I supposed that maybe I ought to have been grateful for the _imprinting, _for giving me the best three months of my entire life. But for some reason… the pain that I was feeling right now: like I was being turned inside out and drained of everything… it wasn't worth it.

Exhausted and crying, I threw myself into my van. Slamming the door behind me. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't speak, I couldn't even cry anymore. I just sat there in silence. Staring out of the window from the front seat. I felt empty, incomplete, and dead inside.

Seth Clearwater had broken me completely and utterly beyond repair.

* * *

**Heart-wrencher of a chapter I know. A tad melodramatic maybe, but I always wondered about imprinting... is it like real love? I think I would find it a little hard to grasp if someone who said they loved me, turned out they only got to know me in the first place because they had to... hmm. Anyway, you're going to have to wait for the next chapter to see how it goes. (and it won't be as long as this one. I promise :P I get a little carried away.)**

**Love you all. Review please! - Rose x**


	9. Chapter Nine: Hope is what guides us

**Hello all. Thank you for being so patient. I am a terrible updater I know. I've been so busy (what with A-levels and what not) that I haven't had time to write much, so here's a little filler before another big chapter. Nothing much happens in this chapter so I'm sorry :( It's just a little, short filler to give you Seth's feelings on the sitch and to give you amazing readers something to keep you going until the next proper chapter. So here you have it. Seth's angst. Hope it fulfills expectations (p.s: a little advisory note: seth swears. Once. Just to warn you :p) I love you all.**

**Disclaimer: I own Kris, but that's about it.**

* * *

_Seth Clearwater_

"Seth, man! You're gonna have to come out of there sooner or later!"

Quil's concerned tones reached my ears as I let the hot water cascade down my body, washing away my misery. I was standing in the shower at Emily's, and I had been for the last half an hour. After Krista had run off, Jake and Quil had tried to talk me into coming inside, but I refused. I guess a little part of me had thought… hoped… no, _wished_ she would come back. But she didn't. Eventually, after an hour of sitting in the rain Sam had come out and dragged me inside. Emily quickly ushered me into the shower after realising my normally abnormal body heat was well below par. I didn't argue. I guess I hoped the water would disguise the fact I was crying. I didn't like to be seen like this.

My arms were beginning to ache as they were supporting almost my entire body weight. I had spread my hands out on the wall in front of me and leaned forward so that I could get my neck right in, under the shower, allowing my shoulders to get the full blast.

"Seriously, dude. You'll go all wrinkly if you stay in there much longer!"

I mentally willed Quil to go away. The whole gang had been standing outside the bathroom, occasionally shouting the odd quip or concerned comment. They were falling on deaf ears. I wasn't listening. They could all go to hell for all I cared. I wasn't coming out any time soon.

"Seth! Emily says you'll finish all the hot water if you don't come out! Then she'll be pissed!"

That was Paul this time. Insensitive as always. I swear that was the only little thing that made me consider leaving the comfort of the hot water: the thought of punching Paul right on the nose.

"Leave him be. He needs time to sort himself out."

I could hear Sam's hushed tones from the bottom of the stairs. I scrunched my eyes tight shut and tried to block out the conversation. I could see where it was going.

"He oughtta get outta there!" Paul snarled at Sam. "No use moping around feeling all sorry for himself just coz his girlfriend dumped him."

"You know full well that's not what it's like Paul!" Sam snarled back. "How would you feel if Rachael went and walked out on you?" There was no answer so Sam continued "Exactly."

"What's he doing in there anyway?" Colin's voice this time, the little punk.

"We think he's trying to drown himself." Paul had obviously found his voice again.

"Seth! If you don't open this door, we're coming in and dragging you out, clothed or unclothed!" Quil thumped his fist on the door. Sighing, I pushed myself off from the wall and shut off the water. Wrapping a towel round my middle I wrenched open the door.

"What do you want?" I spat at Quil. He stepped back, clearly taken by surprise.

"Jeez, man. We were worried. We just wanted to see if you were…"

"If I was what? Ok? Well here's news for you… I'm not. Of course I'm not ok! What did you think was gonna be my answer? Huh? Stupid fucking question." I slammed the door behind me and stalked off to the guest bedroom where Emily had laid me out dry clothes. She always kept spare clothes in case one of us phased suddenly and needed to change, short notice. She's such a saint.

I pulled on the khaki shorts and tried to button up the plain white shirt Emily had left out, but found my fingers were shaking too much to button them. Roaring in frustration, I ripped the shirt from my torso and flung it into the furthest corner, breathing heavily. The pain in my rib cage that had appeared on the beach flared up, harder than ever. I clutched at my bare chest, scratching at it with my nails, raking them repeatedly over the place that hurt.

She had gone.

She had really left me.

It was completely and utterly over.

I didn't think the pain was ever going to go away. My knees gave away beneath me and I sat down heavily on the bed, my head in my hands. I couldn't _believe _I'd been so stupid. I should have explained the imprinting earlier. I should have explained it _better. _Whenever I had tried to say anything about it, it had come out all wrong. I hardly understood it myself, how I thought I'd explain it to _her _was beyond me.

I think that was the problem though. I hadn't thought at all. I'd just decided to ignore it. Ignore the imprinting thing. Hope it would never come up in conversation. So STUPID! All it had taken was a little slip of the tongue…

Bella! My head snapped up and I snarled at the empty room. This was all _her _fault. If she had just kept her stupid big mouth shut, none of th-

"It would have happened anyway Seth." Edward's voice came from beneath the closed door. "It wasn't Bella's fault."

"Go away." I snapped. "This is nothing to do with you. Stop invading my head!"

Edward didn't reply, but I could smell him on the other side of the door; the disgusting stench of filthy leech-

"Insulting me doesn't improve your situation Seth." Edward didn't even bother hiding the smarmy chuckle in his voice. I leapt up and kicked the door in frustration. It cracked at the bottom.

"I said go away!"

"I'm not going anywhere." Edward replied quietly. "You know I won't."

"What do I have to do to make you leave?" I growled in what I hoped was a menacing tone.

"Murder my wife. Rape, pillage and plunder." Edward chuckled again. "But then again, I would probably just kill you, rather than leave."

I wrenched open the door. "Would punching your smarmy, bloodsucking face do the trick?"

"You'd only hurt yourself." Edward's crooked smile enraged me, the pain in my chest flaring again. His eyes flickered towards the scratches on my chest and he instantly softened. "I know it hurts…"

"How do you know?" I moved my face right up close to his, glaring straight into his eyes. "You may be able to read my mind, but you can't feel what I feel!"

Edward lowered his eyes to my chest again. "I know exactly how you feel. You feel empty: a shell of who you were. Like all the happiness has been sucked out of you and all that's left is a burning fire in your chest. A fire that won't go out because she's not here, by your side. Your world falls apart into tiny pieces and all that's replaying over and over in your head, is the image of her walking away, and although it hurts to think of it, you can't let it go because it's the last time you saw her and you don't want to forget what she looks like. You cling onto the memory, killing yourself a little every time you replay it, but at the same time, it's the only thing that keeps you going."

I stared at Edward, wide-eyed. He smiled sadly at me.

"I may not know about imprinting, but I understand what it's like to loose the only thing that matters in your life."

"But Bella…"

"I thought she died once, remember? That she threw herself off a cliff."

I nodded dumbly. I remembered. I'd had to put up with Jake's pain when Bella had up and left to find Edward in Italy. Breathing out heavily I found myself unable to meet Edward's eyes, the pain in my chest burning all the more.

"So what do I do now?" I asked staring at the floor, feeling completely pathetic.

"I don't know." Confessed Edward. "I think all you can do is wait."

"Wait?" My voice was incredulous. I stared, mad-eyed, at Edward. "_Wait?!"_

"Yes Seth. Wait."

"Wait for what?" I spat out, my breath catching in my throat. "For her to change her mind? For her to come back round? For her to magically understand imprinting and fall back in love with me?" I was horrified to realise I was crying again. With a roar of frustration, I turned from Edward and stormed to the opposite side of the room, thumping the wall with my fist and leaning my forehead against the plaster, willing the tears to go away. I didn't want anyone, _anyone _to see me like this, especially not my bloodsucking best friend.

During my fit of rage, Edward had entered the room properly and closed the door behind him. "Seth" He muttered and I could almost hear him shaking his head. "She never fell _out _of love with you."

"Shut up." I spat to the wall.

"She still loves you Seth."

"SHUT UP!" How dare he give me false hope? He said he understood, but he obviously understood nothing! He could never understand this pain. No werewolf in the history of imprinting had ever been rejected by their imprint before. But my pain cut deeper than some stupid, magical tribe thing. I loved her so much, _so _much. Imprint or no imprint, she was my soul mate and… and…

I did the only thing my messed up head would allow me to. I hit Edward.

"YAAAAAOOOOOOWWWWWWWCHHHHHH!" I pulled back my punch as quickly as I'd thrown it. I clutched my wrist. It was shattered for sure. Even Edward, king of restraint, couldn't hold back a smirk.

"Come on Seth, you know better than to punch a stone statue."

"A stone statue would have broken after a punch like that." I grumbled, massaging my hand. "You're just a freak."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Lets take you to Carlisle-"

"No."

"No? Come on Seth, even you aren't stupid enough to reject medical help when you need it."

"I'll heal on my own. Give me a couple of hours." I sunk onto the bed, still holding my wrist. Edward sighed and sat beside me.

"You think I was lying when I told you she still loved you?" He asked quietly. A heavy shudder ran down my spine. Edward placed a cool hand on my bare back. "Easy Seth. Emily wouldn't thank you for phasing indoors."

I steadied my breathing, concentrating. _In. Out. In. Out. Breathe._

"That's good." Edward said, and it sounded like he meant it.

"Can we not talk about her?" I asked pleadingly. "I don't think I'm strong enough." I clutched at the fire in my chest again.

Edward nodded. "Sure. That's fair. But just know one thing Seth. I was on that beach too, and I heard what she was saying... not out loud, but in her head. She still loves you, and you have to know that."

I nodded, mainly for Edward's sake, and not because I believed him. "Alright."

"Just give it a few days. Then talk to her. She just needs to understand that you love her for her and not because you have to."

"How can she not know that Edward? Everything is for her, _everything. _There's no way I could not love her. She's perfect. Even without the imprinting, without all the messed up stuff. If I was just me and Kris was Kris, all human, all real, I believe I would have found her eventually. I love her."

Edward smiled. "She needs to know that."

"I'll tell her." I decided. "As soon as she'll let me, I'll tell her."

"Just give it time. A few days, that's all it'll take." Edward clapped me on the shoulder. I grimaced.

"Days? I don't think I can last that long without her."

"Be strong." Edward advised me. "Trust me, she's worth waiting for."

I breathed a deep sigh of partial relief, "Thanks man."

"Anytime." Edward got up and left, no goodbyes were necessary. He knew I just needed to go home. The pain in my wrist throbbed dully, but it was nothing compared to the excruciating, burning pain in my chest. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on breathing. What was I going to do for 'a few days'? I don't think I could handle a normal routine, a normal life without her. I thanked god it was the holidays. No need to face school. Getting up, I decided to face the music and go downstairs. The idea of Emily and Sam's pitying smiles made me feel slightly sick, but what could I do? I just needed to get out, but I wasn't going anywhere until I got them off my back.

I entered the kitchen grave-faced.

"Dude, you look terrible." Brady spoke first from his seat at the kitchen table. Great, the whole gang was still here. Paul sat, sulking in the corner. I guessed Sam had forbidden him to speak, I silently thanked him. Jacob stood up.

"Seth, man. Are you ok?"

I sighed. I had anticipated this question and perfected my answer, in order to get out of this unquestioned and unscathed.

"I'm fine Jake. I just need, some time…" I looked at the floor, unable to meet anyone's eyes. I was a terrible liar.

"You need anything sweetie? Food? Drink? A hug?" Emily's voice cracked. She could feel my pain, I was sure of it. She had that knack of getting hurt if anyone in her family got hurt. A bit like Esme.

"No thanks Emily." I answered dully. My voice didn't sound my own. I felt cold, sick.

"I think you should talk to Krista." Sam spoke softly. I wished he wouldn't have said it in front of a whole room full of pitying werewolves, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"Yeah, I think I will." My voice was so empty, it was hard to believe it was coming from me at all. I turned to Emily. "I'm sorry about your door. I'll fix it at some point." I thought guiltily of the crack in the door I'd kicked earlier. Emily at once rushed to assure me it was no problem whatsoever. I thanked her.

"Jake, can you do me a favour?" I asked, still not meeting his eyes.

"Anything, dude."

"Can you, Quil, Em and Leah not phase for a while? I need some time to have my thoughts to myself."

"Sure thing. The forest's yours." I was grateful that Jacob understood, remembering that he went through a similar thing with Bella, not so long ago.

Similar, but not the same. Nowhere near the same. It was worse for me. Much, much worse.

I nodded once at the general assembly in the room. I tried to force a smile, but I just couldn't. It seemed my cheek muscles wouldn't follow orders any more.

"Bye." I said simply, before heading out the door.

I didn't even bother changing. I just wanted to be gone. Gone, and as far away from anything as possible. I needed to leave reality, just for a bit, and become the wolf. Jacob had explained it to me once. I hoped he'd keep to his side of the deal and not phase for a while. It was harder to be wolf with people yakkin' in your head the whole time.

As soon as my four paws hit the soft earth, I sped away, following my nose. I smelt deer. Hopefully hunting would help me become less human. Hopefully.

_-Seth?_

What? Oh no, no, no, no, NO! I howled with frustration.

_-Go away Leah. Please go._

_-No way. Quil told me like an hour ago that you were on the beach after Krista-_

_-PHASE BACK LEAH! LEAVE ME ALONE!_

I howled again. Hoping beyond hope that she wasn't running after me right now.

_-I'm not coming to find you Seth, I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you._

Even my thoughts were silent. I was stunned. Leah? Being nice?

_-It's been known to happen. _I could feel her rolling her eyes.

_-Leah, I appreciate it and all, but I just want to be alone._

_-I know you do Seth, but it's not good for you. To be alone. I should know._

An image of Sam and Emily flashed across my vision. I suddenly understood.

_-You get it don't you? This pain I'm feeling._

_-Completely and 100% Seth. I get it._

_-It's horrible._

_-I know it is little brother, I know. But you have to bear it. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that being alone makes it harder. You just need to keep your head above water. Don't let it eat you up._

_-Easier said than done Leah._

_-You think I don't know that. _She scoffed. -_Believe me, I know this pain. But it was worse for me Seth, because he loved me. Past tense. At least this girl still loves you._

_-You don't know that._

_-That's how imprinting works doesn't it? _Leah was starting to sound like her old bitter self. She couldn't keep the note of loathing from her voice. -_Gives you your little happily ever after._

_-No it doesn't._

_-No it doesn't. _She agreed. -_But at least you have hope. Even if you don't believe that she still loves you, you can hope that she does because it's always a possibility. With me, I didn't even have that._

_-Leah…_

_-Don't pity me Seth, it's not what I'm asking for, I'm just trying to help._

Perspective, that's the word I used with Krista and her problems. You just had to put things into perspective, and that's what Leah was trying to do with me.

-I_mprinting's a bitch. _I moaned.

_-A total bitch._

Then Leah was silent for a moment before, -_Seth, come home. Mom's made cookies, I've got a whole bunch of new movies and we can watch and whine about them together, how 'bout it? I know you want to be alone right now, but seriously, what you really need is a distraction. Just for a while. I can make it better… no, not better… but just that little bit more bearable. I know it's not what you want, but with hindsight, I wish someone had done this for me when I went through it all with Sam._

_-Leah… _I groaned -_I'm so sorry I wasn't there when…_

_-It's ok little brother. I never expected you to be. You were too young to understand. I mean, jeez, you're still too young. But anyway, I'm doing this for you now, so you better freaking well accept it._

_-Thanks Leah._

_-Just come home, ok?_

And then she was gone, phased back no doubt. I suddenly became aware that I had stopped running. When had that happened?

I decided to do as Leah said. Maybe it was what I needed: a distraction. I would talk to Krista soon. Ok, so I couldn't wait a few days, like Edward had suggested, I was far too impatient for that. But maybe tomorrow? She might have cooled down by tomorrow? My heart swelled at the thought of seeing her again. Leah was right, I didn't have much right now, but I did have hope.

Hope.

It may not be much, but while I still had it, I would cling onto it for dear life.

* * *

**So? I know it was short, but the next chapter will be meatier I promise. And at least you got a bit of Edward (and we all know how Edward can make things better :P)**

**Review? Please? It'll make my day! :)**


	10. Chapter Ten: All by myself

**Oh my GOSH! I am so, so sorry for the HUGE gap in my updates. I cannot apologise enough. I am a useless excuse for a writer. I hope you haven't abandoned this story completely. It's all planned. 21 chapters so we're pretty much half way there. This chapter and the next are going to be a little sad and mopey, but that's how you feel when you break up, right? So bare with me :) The chapter after is going to be the big'un.**

**Disclaimer: It all belongs to S.M. Oh, and 'All By Myself' belongs to Jamie O'Neal. Or whoever wrote the song for her.**

* * *

_Krista Hughes_

Mum was worried. Of course she was, I hadn't left the spare room all day. She had been worried when I'd returned from the beach, not said a word, and thrown myself into the shower. She had been worried when I'd told her I didn't want any dinner and that I was going to bed when it was only 7pm. She had been worried when I refused to go into my own room and shut myself in the tiny spare bedroom. And she had been especially worried when I refused the marmite on toast she had made me. _Especially_ worried. I never refused marmite. Ever.

The truth was… it wasn't just that I wasn't hungry. I mean, I wasn't hungry… but I wasn't _anything. _I wasn't hungry or tired or angry.I wasn't even sad any more. I was just numb, like every feeling had been ripped out of me. I was completely and totally empty. I couldn't go into my room. Not the way it looked. Everything in that room reminded me of him, and everything in it reminded me of the big fat lie I had been fed. I imagined them all sitting at Emily's now, laughing at how they'd _got the new girl good 'n' proper. _It was sick. I felt sick.

I lay in the tiny camp bed, amongst the unpacked boxes in the spare room and stared at the ceiling. I felt like I had come a full circle. This room was just like how my old one used to be: cluttered, unwelcoming, unloving. It was cold too, but that didn't really bother me. Heat just reminded me of him and his abnormal temperature. I couldn't deal with that right now.

It was 5pm now. Almost 24 hours since I'd last seen Set… him. Mum had shouted at me when I wouldn't come out of my room, but there was nothing she could bloody well do about it. She had told me that if I wasn't out of bed by the time she came back from town there'd be '_hell to pay young lady!'_

Well, I hadn't, and she didn't do anything about it. Naturally, she'd asked what the matter was, but I couldn't tell her. She wouldn't understand. Even without the whole fucking stupid werewolf/vampire/magic thing… she wouldn't understand. She doesn't get 'love'. I wonder if she and dad were ever actually 'in love'.

Does real love even exist? I love Seth. Shitting hell I love him so much I ache all over from it. But it's killing me. Slowly, bit-by-bit, I feel like it's devouring me completely. And all because he doesn't love me back. That's the cutting thing. Love isn't real love unless they love you back. That's what true love is: the love that lasts forever because it's mutual. But it was never mutual for Seth and me. I thought it was, I really did. But it never was. While I slowly and surely fell deeper and deeper for my lovely, lonely wolf boy, he was in it purely out of obligation.

Yes he liked everything about me. Yes we had loads in common. Yes he enjoyed spending time with me and - even though it kills me to say it – I think he did love me… _does _love me. I only had to look in his eyes to know that he loved me. And that's the fucking thing: he _always _loved me. Right back at day one, before he even knew me, he loved me.

But that's not '_real_ _love'_.

Real love is a gradual progression. It starts off as a little spark of attraction. You like one little thing about them and your head goes _Hey, yeah. I like you a lot._ You get talking, you get walking. One thing leads to another and eventually you fall in love. Right?

Well, that's what I thought love was. But maybe it doesn't happen like that in real life. Maybe that's just wishful thinking.

Or maybe it does, but because I'm such a massive fuck-up, I need someone to 'magically' fall in love with me before I ever find happiness, because no one will have me any other way. God, that's a depressing thought…

So anyway, there I was; in that tiny little camp bed, feeling like it was the end of the world.

"Kiki, honey, you gotta get up. You just gotta. It's almost six!" Mum was standing outside my room, talking through the door. I'd blockaded her out with a couple of boxes. That door was impenetrable. "You haven't eaten all day! It's not healthy. Please hon, just come have some dinner. I've made stir fry and rice, but if you want something else I could-"

"I'm not hungry." I said loudly. It seemed to be my favourite phrase today; I'd said it so many times.

"Krista, please!" She sounded a little hysterical. "Why won't you talk to me? I know it has something to do with that Clearwater boy." I winced.

"Just leave me along mum."

She tried a different tact. "Ok. Fine. I'll go. But what are you going to do then, huh? You gonna stay cooped up tomorrow too? And the next day? And the next? Because eventually, you've got to eat, and if you don't, you'll just waste away."

"I'll manage." I mumbled into my cover, but I don't think she heard.

She sighed exasperatedly "Well anyway. There's food downstairs. I'm going out to the movies tonight with some girls from work. Just don't do anything stupid, ok?"

I didn't answer but I could hear her walk away downstairs. Stupid woman. Like she would ever understand. I wasn't coming out, I didn't need anything except the one thing I couldn't have…

Except I could have him. I could walk over there now and because of this 'imprinting' he'd take me right back, because he wouldn't have a choice. That was ok, wasn't it? Having him love me out of necessity was better than not having him love me at all, right?

No, it wasn't. I may be a needy, insecure little girl, but I don't settle for second best. If I was going to love someone, they were going to bloody well love me back… for _me. _And not because some voodoo-magic made them love me out of biological necessity.

Well then… I would just find someone else to love. Simple. Perfect plan. It would totally work. Yeah… completely flawless. Good one Krista.

The sound of my stomach growling roused me into reality from my stupid, impossible plans. I guess I was hungry after all. Annoyed that my plan to curl up and die in that camp bed had failed, I sat up in bed. If mum was out, she never needed to know I left my room. I could nip down, grab a bite to eat, and hop back upstairs again before she got home. That way, I could put off the hunger strike 'til tomorrow and die slowly and painfully as a martyr then. The thought of a marmite sandwich was just impossible to resist. No one needed to know. And when my body was discovered I could leave Seth with the guilt that he killed me. Perfect.

I slid the boxes away from the door and pulled it open. The heat of the corridor hit me in a wave. I'd forgotten there was no radiator in the spare room yet and I'd left the window open. I quickly pulled off the jumper I'd been wearing and tossed it onto my camp bed before walking into the corridor, bare-foot and clad only in grey leggings and an ugly, paint-stained t-shirt of my mothers. Lovely.

Mum had left some rice and chicken on the stove for me, but she would have known I'd been out of my room if I ate any so I deliberately avoided it and made for the bread bin. Shoving a couple of bagels into the toaster, I grabbed a knife from the drawer and searched for the marmite and butter. The house was painfully quiet. I felt that familiar feeling in my stomach that I knew wasn't from hunger. I missed him. God, it had only been a day and I already missed him more than words could describe. He was everything to me and I'd thrown him away. Why oh why oh why oh WHY couldn't he have just been an un-complicated, normal boy like everyone else I had ever met until I moved here? Why did he have to go and have some mumbo-jumbo, wolfy… EURGHH!

I threw the knife I was holding onto the floor in annoyance and pushed the palms of both my hands into my forehead in an attempt to stop thinking: a futile effort. The knife bounced once on the tiles and rested by my feet. I stared at it, watching as little drops of salty water fell and splashed off the sharp edge. I was crying again. With a groan of frustration I turned to the kitchen radio, searching for a decent station to fill the room and distract my thoughts. Some familiar tune caught my attention and I turned the volume up to full before realising what it was.

Jamie O'Neal. Oh the irony.

Finding the situation too comically ironic to change the station, I decided to do a Bridget Jones and sing along.

"When I was young, I never needed anyone…"

I picked up the knife and held it up like a microphone, crooning into the sharp end as I put the toasted bagels onto a plate.

"And makin' love was just for fun, those days are gone…"

I buttered both pieces and spread the marmite on liberally, licking the knife clean when I was done, all the while singing along to the second verse, anticipating the chorus.

"Livin' alone, I think of all the friends I've known. But when I dial the telephone, nobody's home…"

I spun around, screwing my eyes shut in a feeble attempt to stop the tears that were already spilling down my cheeks. Throwing one arm wide and holding the knife up to my mouth as a mock-microphone once more, I belted out the chorus at the top of my lungs.

"ALL BY MY SE-E-ELF! Don't wanna be, ALL BY MY SE-E-E-E-E-L-L-L-LF! ANYMORE!"

Opening my eyes I screamed in fright as I recognised the figure standing in the kitchen by the back door. Obviously I hadn't heard the door open over the racket.

Seth.

"Hey Kris." His expression was sombre and he wasn't smiling; yet there was an amused sparkle in his eye that I couldn't mistake.

Realising what I was wearing, I quickly wrapped my arms around my body, tucking my hands under my armpits in a feeble attempt to cover the horrible t-shirt. I stared at Seth, saying nothing until.

"What are you doing here?"

My voice was cold. Unintentionally so, but it came out that way anyway.

"I came to apologise." He looked at the floor sheepishly, his immense heat radiating from every part of him, something I'd almost forgotten the feel of.

"For what?" I asked, icily.

"For… not explaining things properly. Or earlier."

"Bit late."

"I know."

Silence.

"I'm sorry Krissy, I-"

"Don't call me that." I interrupted him with a glare. "Don't you dare call me that."

"Kris…"

"What the hell are you doing here Seth?" Anger bubbled inside of me. "You think you can just swan in and apologise and expect everything to be hunky dory?"

"No, of course not! I just thought-"

"You just thought you'd try it anyway? See how mad it makes me? Jeez Seth, you're just proving me point that you don't know me at all? You think me seeing you is making this any better?"

"No. I just… I know it's soon but… I couldn't stay away… I had to see you-" His voice was quiet and sad, which just made me upset all the more. How dare he come into my house uninvited and expect to be able to explain things? What was there left to explain? He'd said all he could. Being back here just made it hurt more. Things felt… right with him around, I guess that's part of the 'imprinting' again.

"Seth, you can't… you can't just turn up here." I tried to calm myself, for fear of crying and looking like a pathetic drip again. Like I didn't already look like one. Damn you Jamie O'Neal. "You just can't. It hurt too much saying goodbye the first time, I'm not sure I can do it again."

"Then don't!" Seth took an urgent step towards me as I took one backwards away from him. "Take me back Krissy. I'm so, so sorry I didn't explain the imprinting thing before. But if we could just sit down and talk about it, you'd understand that I do l-o"

I held up a hand. "Don't say it. Don't use the L word."

Seth stopped short and looked at me, a mischievous glint in his eye. "I love you Krista."

I swore loudly at him. I swear he almost chuckled. "You can't say that! You can't bloody say you love me when we both know that it's only because of the imprinting!"

"But it's not Kris, if you'd just listen-"

"I'm done listening Seth. You explained it all perfectly on the beach. We lock eyes. You imprint. You make _me_ fall for _you_. Then you drop the bombshell that, oh, you only love me because it's biologically necessary for you to love me. Even if I'd been as big as a house with a ginger beard and three legs you would have loved me." I was in full rant mode now. "If you think that's love Seth Clearwater then clearly you haven't watched enough romantic movies."

"Life isn't a movie Kris…" Seth muttered, staring at his feet.

"OH YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT?!" I yelled at him. "If life were a movie I'd be happy. If life were a movie we'd be married with three kids. If life were a movie I wouldn't hurt THIS MUCH!" Oh crap. I was crying again. Bloody brilliant. "I love you Seth." I Spluttered. "But it's killing me because you can't love me back the way I need you to."

Seth said nothing. Instead he just wrapped his arms around me and held me tights, whispering calmly into my ear.

"Shhh. Calm. Shhhh. I'm here."

It was too much. I completely broke down. "Please Seth." I choked. "Please don't make this harder. I can't… I can't love you. It hurts too much."

I buried my face in his t-shirt, taking in his scent for the last time.

"Just love me Krista, and let me love you back." He whispered. "Because I do. Of course I love you. You're my imprint and I-"

That did it. Wrenching myself out of his arms, I grabbed the nearest marmite-smeared bagel and lobbed it at him with all my strength. "GET OUT!" I screamed. "GET OUT GET OUT!" I pelted him with another bagel until, running out of bagels, I turned to using my fists. Shoving him hard towards the door I just kept repeating over and over. "Get out, get out, get out!"

Seth didn't try and resist, though we both knew he would have held me back easily if he did. Instead he just let himself be pushed away, his face the picture of hurt and regret. He probably didn't mean to say those words. But that doesn't take back the fact he said them.

I pushed him out of the door and slammed it shut in his face. "DON'T EVER COME BACK!" I screamed at, drawing the blinds to block out the face of the boy I cared so much about.

Seth didn't try and come in again. Part of me wished he had. Part of me wished he'd been a little more resilient and had barged the door open again, swept me up, told me the imprinting was just a huge joke and that he loved me in the 'forever' way. But I knew that was stupid. I had to face the facts. Imprinting was imprinting and that was never going to change. He said it himself 'I love you. You're my imprint.' He didn't exactly say 'because' but it was there.

'I love you, because you're my imprint.'

And that was that.

I sunk to my knees, leaning my back against the door, wiping my nose on the corner of my t-shirt and crying pathetic, snuffly sobs. So I had done it then: broke up with him all over again. And it hurt like hell.

* * *

**So. . . Another tear-jerker. I apologise for all the swearing, but when I'm angry, I tend to curse a lot so I though Krista ought to too. If it offends you, I'm sorry :(**

**And yes, I think Kris is being unnecessarily moody too. But that's her character. Also, her world's just been turned upside down because she realises her relationship with Seth has been based on a lie. It's like your boyfriend turning round and saying 'I do love you, but only because I was shot with a love dart that makes me love you'. **

**Hmm, anyway, I think she's allowed to be a little moody :)**

**Oh, and if you've haven't seen Bridget Jones, this is what inspired the singing along to Jamie O'Neal: ****www. youtube. com/watch?v=0D0zfB1l1x0 GO WATCH!**

**Please review. More reviews mean quicker updates. And I'm bored of writing mopey arguments now. I want to get to the good stuff :D **

**Rose x x**


	11. Chapter eleven: haikus and love letters

**Hello! Again, apologies for the slow updates. I'm writing as fast as I can, but coming up to exams now so probably no more updates for a while :( But i promise promise to finish this story by the end of the summer. I'm not giving up!! :)**

**Thank you all for sticking with me. I love every single one of you wonderful reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to you know who. plus whoever wrote/directed/produced A Knight's Tale.**

* * *

_Seth Clearwater_

**BANG**

"stupid"

**BANG**

"stupid"

**BANG**

"stupid!"

It was beginning to hurt. My forehead made contact with the brick wall for about the hundredth time.

**BANG**

"stupid!!!"

The wall had a large Seth-Clearwater's-forehead shaped dent in it now. But I just kept on hammering at it.

**BANG**

"Stupid!!!!!"

Why the hell had I said that? _"You're my imprint"_. Hadn't I learnt that by now the 'I' word was a COMPLETE taboo? Everything was going so fine. We'd made progress and BAM, my verbal dihorrea got the better of me… again.

**BANG**

"STUPID!"

"Dude! What the hell are you doing?" Jacob grabbed both my arms and dragged me away from the wall. "What the hell are you breaking the side of my house for?"

"My forehead's fine, thanks for the concern." I muttered bitterly. Jacob rolled his eyes at me.

"I take it your visit to Kris' didn't go so well."

"It could have gone better."

"What did you do Seth?" Jacob sounded a little exasperated. I was merely indignant.

"What did _I _do? I didn't do anything! She threw a bagel at me!"

Jacob scoffed. "Aww. Did ickle Seff get hurt by the big nasty bagel?" I punched him on the arm.

"Quit it!"

"Look bro. You made a mistake. You have to fix it."

"Mistake? There was no mistake! What was my mistake?" I folded my arms across my chest.

"Not telling your imprint about imprinting was your mistake."

"Oh." I pawed the ground with my foot. The throbbing in my forehead was beginning to die down and I was starting to think clearly again. This was exactly what I didn't want to happen. I made for the wall.

**BANG**

"Seth! Jeez man, cut it out!" Jacob lunged for me and dragged me back once more. "What are you? Some kind of masochistic moron?"

"Something like that." I mumbled. "But a headache hurts a lot less than heartbreak right now."

Jacob rolled his eyes for about the millionth time. "C'mon man. Stop being so melodramatic. We need to get you to Emily's."

"No!" A roomful of noisy werewolves was the last thing I needed. "I just need to be alone."

"Yeah right. Like I'm going to leave you alone to turn your forehead into mashed potato." Jacob grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the front of his house. Rachel was standing on the porch.

"Seth!" She made a face. "Dude, what's wrong with your head?"

I put my hand to my forehead. Sure enough there was a massive lump there. Probably purple too. I shrugged. It would go down in half an hour or so.

"Rach, I'm off to see Nessie but I need you to watch Seth for a bit. I'm worried he'll jump off a cliff or leap in front of a car or something so he can't be left alone. But he wont go over to Emily's." Jake smacked his forehead into his palm in a demonstration of my earlier actions.

"Will do little bro. Come on Seth, let's see what we can do with that forehead."

"Fast healing." I mumbled.

"And ice will heal it faster." Rachel grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, giving Jacob a 'jeez, thanks a lot' look.

Once inside I felt the familiar pain in my chest. The headache had only served to momentarily replace the pain of losing Kris all over again, but once it faded, the fire burned all the more.

"Rach, I appreciate your help and all but really, I don't need to be here. I can just go…"

"You're not going anywhere young man." I'd forgotten how much older than me Rachel was, and how much scarier. "Sit down and put this on your head." She handed me a bag of frozen peas. I took them begrudgingly. "Paul will be over later." Rachel said. I groaned.

"I'll be gone by then. No offense Rach, but Paul is the last person I need to see right now."

"Well then you've got about twenty minutes to prove to me you're not going to go throw yourself off a building or you'll be stuck in here with me and Paul all night."

"Ra-ach…"

"Don't you 'Ra-ach' me Seth Clearwater. I've known you since you were in diapers and I know all the right buttons to push, so spill."

I sighed. She spoke the truth. Even when we were little, Rach always knew exactly how to annoy me, upset me, provoke me etc, etc. I think that's why her and Leah never got on. Rachel was a natural born bully, as opposed to her twin sister Becca who was all sweetness and sunshine, and Leah didn't like anyone bullying her younger brother except herself. I think there was a good intention hidden in there somewhere… deep, in there.

"Basically…" I began. "I imprinted on this girl and we got on great and we've been going out for like three months but I never actually told her about imprinting and then Bella let it slip by accident yesterday at the beach and I didn't really explain imprinting very well and so Krista got all upset and left and wouldn't speak to me so I went to see her this evening and we were about to make up but then I said something stupid and upset her all over again and now she won't speak to me at all and it's all my fault." I took a deep breath in. "Can I go now?"

Rachel looked thoughtful. "Want me to speak to her?"

"Wha- NO! Jeez no way! You'd probably make it worse." I got to my feet, shaking my head, cringing at the thought of Rachel talking to Kris about it all.

** "_It's imprinting. You have to love him back. Suck it up, bitch." **_

That is _exactly _the kind of thing Rachel would say.

"Ok fine, just a suggestion." Rachel held her hands up in surrender. "Well, I got over the whole imprinting thing pretty quick when Paul told me about it. Mind you, he wasn't the most tactful about it either." She rolled her eyes at the memory. "In fact, his exact words were 'hey hot stuff. You know imprinting? Well I imprinted on you so we're gonna have to make out some time soon.' Then Jake phased and attacked him. I found the situation too funny to make a fuss. Plus I already knew what imprinting was."

"Plus she couldn't resist my hot bod." Paul smirked from the doorway. I groaned.

"Ra-ach. I thought you said he wasn't coming for 20 minutes!"

Rachel shrugged. "Guess he's faster than I thought."

Paul strode over, winked at me, then launched himself at Rachel, eating her face with such ferocity that if she wasn't such an evil soul-sucking harpy, I would have felt sorry for her. Paul was obviously rubbing it in my face that he had a happy imprint and mine was probably planning to leave the country.

Holy crow! What if that's what Krista decided to do? What if she went home back to the UK? She wouldn't, would she?

"Erm guys, I'm gonna take off, okay?" I muttered sheepishly, edging towards the door. Rachel gave me the thumbs up sign while deeply engaged in her game of tonsil tennis. I shuddered. That was an image that would haunt me for a long, long time.

Outside, I felt like I could breathe again. It was dark, almost midnight I wouldn't wonder. My body clock had never been that good though. I phased and headed for the woods.

_Seth! How'd it go… oh._

I didn't even need to answer Quil. He saw the replay of events in my memories.

_Damn man, that sucks. _

_Yeah… _I agreed. _Where are you?_

_Just around the corner from you. Heading your way. You okay?_

_Not really. _

_Use some company? _

I thought about it. I know I told Jacob that I wanted to be alone, but actually, right now, Quil was the only one I could probably stand to be around.

_Sure. Thanks man._

_Anytime. I'll be there in 5._

Sure enough, five minutes later there was a great big sandy wolf in front of me.

_Wanna phase back? _Quil asked, headbutting my shoulder with his huge, furry head.

_Naw. I didn't bring any clothes. _

_Neither. Wolf-form it is. _Quil sat down beside me. _Tough call man._

_I know. Jeez Quil, when did I become so stupid?_

_Dude, you've always been a dumbass._

_Thanks_

_Anytime._

I sighed and rested my muzzle on my paws. _I don't know what to do Quil. I seriously don't know how to get her back. I want to explain to her about imprinting, but I just get all flustered when I'm around her and end up saying the wrong thing._

Quil was quiet for a moment. A rush of images flashed around his head.

_Seth, explain imprinting to me._

_Huh?_

_Explain what imprinting is._

_Dude, you know what imprinting is._

_Of course I do idiot, I'm checking if you do! Now tell me what the hell it is._

_Well it's… it's when you… you look someone in the eye and… and you fall in love. _

_And?_

_And what? That's it._

_That is not 'it' Seth Clearwater. Explain better than that._

_Ok-ay. So you lock eyes and you fall in love. And then they have to love you back because they're your imprint._

Quil made a strange barking sound.

_What? _I demanded. _Did I say something wrong?_

_They don't 'have' to love you back dumbass. Clare doesn't love me in that way._

_Yeah well it's different for you. You're some kind of paedophile. OWCH_

Quil bit me on the neck.

_Call me a paedophile again and I'll make sure you stay a virgin forever._

_How do you kno-_

_I read your diary. Now explain again. Imprinting is when…_

_Eurghhh_ I growled at my so-called best friend. _Imprinting is done for the biological sake of reproduction. You imprint on the female that's likely to give you the best chance of passing the werewolf gene down from generation to genera-_

_Now you sound like a biology textbook._

_Dude! This is impossible! I have no idea what imprinting is!_

_Exactly! This is my point. You have no idea. So how will Krista get it if you don't even get it yourself? _I had to admit, Quil made a good point.

_Well I dunno. I guess I sort of assumed I'd know what to say when the time came._

_But did you know what to say?_

_No._

_Point proven. Seth. The key word in imprinting is the idea of soul mates. Krista's your soul mate. The whole thing about imprinting is that, yeah ok, you don't really have a choice in the matter, but that's ok. You wouldn't want a choice in the matter, would you?_

I thought about it. Taking away free will on the subject of love wasn't a very appealing thought. But then I thought of Krista and realised that I'd rather be with her than anyone else in the world so really, free will was a small price to pay if she was the prize.

_The thing is Seth. _Quil continued. _Take away the imprinting. Take away the fact you turn into a giant dog. Take away everything remotely abnormal and strange about you and you're left with something pretty simple. Boy meets girl. Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy._

_But I wouldn't have met her if I hadn't imprinted._

_Maybe, maybe not. That's not the point. The point is that without the imprinting, you two are still soul mates. You're perfect for each other in every single way. But without imprinting, you might have just passed her by completely and never have gotten to know her. You'd probably find someone else but you'd never be completely happy because you'd never be with your soul mate. Imprinting is just like radar. It points you in the direction of your soul mate and goes 'look. Right there. That's her. That's the one you're gonna spend the rest of your life with'._

It made sense. Much more sense than anything else I'd ever been told about imprinting. Mind you, most of what I _had _been told about imprinting was from Leah, and she made it out be like the weapon of Satan.

_But everything revolves around her. From the moment I looked at her, I knew I loved her. That's not normal is it?_

_No. That's imprinting. But I truly believe Seth, that even if imprinting had never existed, you would have still fallen for her._

Of that much, I was absolutely certain. Of course I would have fallen for her. How could I not? She was perfect! She was my soul mate.

_How am I gonna get her back Quil? _I asked miserably, head on paws once more.

I saw all my memories reflected through Quil's own thoughts. He was scouring my brain.

_Hey! Quit it! _I whined. I didn't like other people nosing around in my head.

_Got it! _Quil sounded triumphant but before I could ask why he suddenly phased back and I was faced with a naked boy standing before me. I covered my eyes with a paw.

"I phased back so you could hear my amazing beyond brilliant plan." Quil seemed so proud of himself, he couldn't even be bothered to cover his manhood, but just let it hang there all out and… well... I guess if I was as big as that, I wouldn't be ashamed of letting it hang eith- "Quit staring at my cock you pervert and phase back!" Quil finally covered himself up with a hand.

Utterly embarrassed, I phased.

"What is it?" I muttered, impatiently.

"Get this." Quil said, letting go of his manhood to gesticulate with both hands. "You write her… a poem."

"What?! Awww c'mon Quil. You made me phase for that crummy idea? You're such a wan-"

"Roses are red, violets are blue, Kris you're a weirdo but I love you." Quil quoted at me. I still drew a blank.

"So?"

"So… she's into poetry! Dude, write her a poem! She'll totally love it! It's like _the _most romantic thing."

"But, as those memories probably showed you, I can't write poetry!" I shook my head with frustration.

Quil looked all smug and superior. "Just pick up a pen, and the words will come. I'm telling you man, if your relationship depends on it, you'll be sprouting sonnets, humming haikus and …er… well writing to save your sorry ass."

It seemed plausible.

"So I just write her a poem?" Was it really that simple?

"Yep. And make sure it's original mind. She's the englishy type so she'll spot it if you copy something from a book."

"Quil man, I could hug you right now."

Quil took a step back. "Yeah… don't do that. We're both naked remember? And I'm already thinking that this memory is gonna come back and bite us in the ass when the rest of the pack phase with us next."

We both cringed at the thought of sharing this experience with Jacob, Leah and Embry. Oh man…

Quil coughed uneasily. "Well, umm… I'm gonna go phase now so…"

"Yeah… me too…" Avoiding the awkward man-hug we went for the lame, cool guy handshake instead, both using our other hand to cover our… areas.

"Thanks Quil." I muttered. "I owe you one."

"You owe me several Clearwater." Quil chuckled before phasing. I did the same.

_Catch ya on the flip side._

_That was lame Seth. Never utter that phrase again._

_Sorry._

And with that we went our separate ways.

* * *

It was almost morning by the time I got home. I phased back and sped up to my bedroom, locking the door behind me. I didn't want Leah to come in and interrupt my Shakespeare session. Pen and paper at the ready I sat at my desk and started to write.

_Oh Krista Hughes._

_I've got the blues._

_Don't make me loose_

_You. I can't choose…_

What the hell? It didn't even make sense. I tried to get a clever little caesura into the third line with the 'loose-you' thing that I knew she'd appreciate but somehow, nothing else rhymed with Hughes. Except booze, moos, coos, poos… haha… toilet humour….

Scrunching up the paper I started again.

_Oh Krista_

_I miss ya_

_Why don't you come back so I can kiss ya._

If possible, it was worse than the first attempt. With a roar of frustration I ripped the paper up into shreds. What the hell was Quil thinking?! I can't write poetry! I can barely write at all! This was the worst idea in the world. Stupid Quil.

I realised it was now almost four in the morning and I hadn't slept since the night before the beach party. That was almost 48 hours ago. What the hell was I running on? I went down to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich, pondering my poetic soul.

Man, I was never going to be a poet. It was stupid to even try. But like Quil said before, I didn't have a better idea, so I was going to have to stick with his dumbass one.

Cheese sandwich in one hand, I reached for another piece of paper.

_When the moon hits your eye like a big piece of pie…_

"That's it!" I hurled both pen and screwed up paper across the room. "No more stupid poetry!"

"You trying to write a poem little brother? How sweet." Leah's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Excuse me while I go throw up." She made a gagging sound. I glared at her.

"Quils idea." I mumbled. "To get Kris back."

Leah burst into a fit of laughter. Jeez, I mean I know it was a dumb idea but she was almost rolling on the floor. "Quil… he… ha ha! Write… poetry?" Leah could hardly get her words out. "Do you boys know _anything _about girls at _all_?!"

"Leah, when was my last girlfriend before Krista?" I asked pointedly.

"Errm, wasn't it Penny Frost in kindergarten?"

"And she stuck a crayon up my nose and until the age of about 11 I though that was a good way of saying 'I love you'." I crossed my arms across my chest.

Leah nodded. "Point made." She made for the other half of my sandwich. I pushed her away. "Look Sethykins, if you want to win a girl back why don't you try asking another girl?"

"Another girl? Good idea Leah, any idea where I could find one?" I grinned wickedly. Leah smacked me round the head.

"You're such a moron." She snapped up the other half of my sandwich and spat on it so I couldn't take it back. I glowered. Older sisters were good at getting revenge. "Look, do you want my advice or not?"

"Not." I replied, pulling a soda from the fridge and shaking it up.

"Fine. Be a single loner for the rest of your life since you're never gonna get Krissy-pie back and you can never move on because you imprinted on her."

I aimed ring of the can of soda at her face.

"You have 5 seconds to get out and leave me alone."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Four."

Leah glared at me.

"Fine do it. I don't care."

"Three." She knew I would do it as well.

"But if you get even one drop of fizzy pop on me…"

"Two."

"I won't tell you my super secret awesome sure-fire way of winning Kris back."

I wavered.

"Super secret awesome?"

"Super secret awesome." Leah winked at me. I put the can down.

"Hit me."

Leah jumped up to sit on the kitchen table and crossed her legs.

"Forget poetry." She said seriously. "But you're on the right track. What you need is to show her you really, truly love her, and to make her calm down enough to hear you out."

"I thought this was a plan to win her back, not get her just to talk to me?"

"Doofus, you have to talk to her first before you win her back. Come on, I can't just wave a magic wand and make it all better."

I have to admit, when she said super secret awesome I was thinking along the lines of magic wands…

"Write her a letter."

"Excuse me?"

Leah grabbed my hand, dragging me out the kitchen and into the tv room.

"Watch this." She shoved a dvd into the player and started to fast forward. I yawned. Sleep was finally catching up with me.

**"**_**It is strange to think, I haven't seen you since a month…"**_

"Leah what the hell is this?"

She hit me over the head with a pillow. "Shhhh! Just watch it!"

**"**_**I have seen the new moon. But not you. I have seen sunsets and sunrises but nothing of your beautiful face." "It's very good William" "I used to know this girl once who… well she broke my heart but I used to say that…"**_

**"**_**The pieces of my broken heart are so small that they can be passed through the eye of a needle... He writes as though I have died." "Yes mam. He dies as well. She used to cook for the duke of york. I miss her like the sun misses the flower"**_

I had to admit, it was pretty cute.

**"**_**I miss you like the sun misses the flower. Like the sun misses the flower in the depths of winter. Instead of beauty to direct its light to, the heart hardens like the frozen world your absence has banished me to."**_

**"**_**I next compete in the city of Paris. I will find it empty and in the winter if you are not there." "I like it. And now to finish it."**_

**"**_**With hope. Love should end with hope. My husband, god rest him, told me something I'll never forget. Hope guides me. It is what gets me through the day and especially the night." **_

**"**_**The hope that after you're gone from my sight it will not be the last time I look upon you.**_

_**With all the love that I posses…"**_

_*** * ***_

Leah stops the dvd, looking over at her sleeping baby brother with a smile.

"Sweet dreams little Romeo." She whispers, tucking a spare blanket around him. "Hopefully some of that will sink in."

She ruffles his hair and pats his cheek before slipping off up to her own room, comforted by his soft, familiar snores.

* * *

**R.I.P Heath. That is probably one of my favourite films ever!**

**Short chapter I know, but I thought some more Seth-Leah time would be nice. I think Seth's finally getting his head around imprinting, don't you?**

**Be an angel and review for me? Please? **


	12. Chapter Twelve: Imprint Shmimprint

**I thought I should give you one last update before the exam season begins. So here it is. The awaited chapter. It's been typed very VERY quickly and is therefore probably FULL of mistakes and typos so I apologise in advance. But I really wanted to post something for all you wonderful and loyal reviewers who are SO incredibly patient! I don't deserve you :) Although, you may not be so loyal once you've read this chapter. Eeek!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Kris. For now.**

* * *

_**Krista Hughes**_

Have I mentioned before that I hate Mondays? Because I really, truly do. With a passion. Hate. Absolutely despise. This Monday in particular. Why? Take one guess.

I pondered my existence as I lay in the spare room bed once more, staring up at the ceiling.

Fact number one: My parents are divorced, forcing myself to live with one and never see the other. Fact number two: I live in a shithole of a place called Forks where the sun never shines. Fact number three: I have zero friends, as all my would-be friends turn into furry little monsters when the mood suits them and run around with no clothes on. Fact number four: I was single.

Bugger.

The other night's incident with Seth had left me shaken to say the least. I have to say, I didn't expect him to turn up. I didn't know what exactly I _did _expect, but having him standing in my kitchen was definitely on the 'unexpected' list.

Maybe I should have forgiven him. Gotten over the whole imprinting thing and just accepted the whole situation. Sure, I would never have been truly happy, knowing that the person I loved only loved me out of necessity, but at least I would be with him, and not alone in a lumpy bed with puffy eyes and a snotty nose.

I just needed to know that he truly loved me. Him saying it over and over again didn't make it any more real… if anything it just made it worse, made him sound like a stupid broken record "_I love you, I love you, I love you…" _I needed to hear something real, something that proved to me that he really knew what he was talking about, something…

Oh to hell with it. Truth be told, I had no idea what I wanted him to say. I had no idea what on earth he possibly _could _say to make anything better.

We. Had. Broken. Up. I was just going to have to man up and deal with it.

…

Easier said than done.

At around midday I got up, thanking the lord it was the school holidays and mum was at work. I checked the calender. December 18th. Nearly Christmas. Somehow I couldn't muster up the same excitement I had felt the previous sixteen Christmases of my life. This would be my first Christmas in the States… my first one without Dad…

I boiled the kettle and made myself a cup of tea, adding liberal amounts of milk, no sugar. Then I sat at the kitchen table, trying to think of what to get Mum for Christmas. Being the super organised daughter I was, I had already bought, wrapped and posted my Dad's Christmas present: a CD of a band I knew he liked, a memento 'La Push' baseball cap and the traditional pair of socks. Mum was harder to buy for. I knew she'd probably be happy with a box of bath salts or something, but for some reason I wanted to get her something a little nicer this year. Although she didn't seem to be stressing out about the move, I could tell she sometimes missed England. Or maybe that was just her missing Dad…

A shuffle from the front door followed by a soft _THUD _broke me from my reverie. I made for the source of the noise. There was no one at the door, but on the doormat was a brown paper package with 'Krista Hughes' written on it, in Seth's unmistakeable scrawl. With a shaking hand I picked it up.

Impatient as always, I immediately opened the package, too nervous and excited to pay attention to the hundreds of other emotions flying around my body. Inside was another package - rectangular shaped and light - and a note. I read it:

* * *

_My Dearest Krista_

_It is strange to think I have not seen you since yesterday. I have seen the new moon. But not you. I have seen sunsets and sunrises but nothing of your beautiful face._

_Krissy, open the package.

* * *

_

That was all it said. Seth's handwriting was even more illegible than usual. He must have been writing very, very quickly, or maybe his hand had been shaking, just like mine were now. I turned my attention to the package.

"Seth Clearwater, if this is your idea of a game…" I hissed through my teeth to the empty room, carefully ripping the paper from the object. Inside was a DVD. _A Knight's Tale. _One of my favourite films ever. I was confused, terribly so, but a little touched all the same. On the front of the box was a post-it note. More writing.

* * *

_Surprise!_

_Merry Christmas Kris. I know it's a bit early but I couldn't wait until Christmas Day to make amends. You know how impatient I get._

_Anyway, I'm sure you've already seen this movie. But go, put the disc in your dvd player and flick to chapter 11. Watch it. You'll know when to stop watching. After that, you can open the final envelope. It's in the DVD case.

* * *

_

I couldn't surpress the little chuckle as I read the 'impatient' bit. He was as impatient as I was. Affection for my lonely wolf boy swelled inside me like the waves at La Push beach. I made for the dvd player, following the instructions.

As soon as the dulcet tones of Heath Ledger hit my ears, I knew exactly which scene I was watching.

"_It is strange to think, I haven't seen you since a month… I have seen the new moon. But not you. I have seen sunsets and sunrises but nothing of your beautiful face." "It's very good William"_

I couldn't help the tears that spilled from my eyelids as the scene unfolded. I cried at the best of times during this film… the way William loved Jocelyn… and how his friend's helped him… it was so romantic. While I watched my eyes kept flitting to the unopened final envelope, resting temptingly in my lap. What could he possibly have to say? What was I expecting him to say?

I was expecting a bloody miracle, that was to say the least.

"_With all the love that I possess…"_

The scene ended and I immediately grabbed the envelope, tearing it open, not bothering to even pause the dvd but rather letting the film continue in the background. I wasn't paying attention. I read Seth's words with a hungry eagerness I'd never felt before. I didn't think it was possible to want anything as badly as I wanted this letter to make me feel better.

* * *

_Kris._

_I hope you watched the scene and that you didn't drool over Heath too much. I know he's pretty, but the last thing I need is competition from a dead actor (r.i.p Mr Ledger)_

I chuckled. Paying our respects to the late Heath Ledger had been an inside joke between us before… I shook my head and read on.

_Anyway, you're probably wondering why I did all this. I mean, it's a cute letter and all, but I couldn't exactly copy it out and send it to you. You'd spot that it wasn't original in an instant and probably hate me even more… man I'm waffling so badly. And I just wrote 'man' down in a letter! You can probably tell I've never written a letter in my entire life before. I even got mum to write my thank-you cards for me when I was little. There I go again… waffling. Isn't the point of letters so that you can express yourself clearly? I wish you were here to help me write it. You'd correct my spelling and everything, and I would be able to express myself better too. You always bring out the best in me._

_The point of this letter was to try and explain how much you mean to me, without me fumbling on my words and mucking things up somehow. Unfortunately, that darn William Thatcher stole the words right out of my mouth…_

_All joking aside, Kris, it's true. It sounds all fancy and romantic when they say things in movies, but truthfully, everything that was said in that letter could be applied to you… well apart from the bit about me competing in Paris. I'm not doing that. Though, if by jousting in a tournament in Paris would win your love back Krista I'd do it in a heartbeat. You know I would._

_The thing is. The pieces of my broken heart __**could**__ be passed through a needle. I'm lost without you. I feel like I've been torn into tiny pieces, I've fallen apart. Without you, nothing makes sense. It __**is **__as though you have died. Because I truly and completely believed that death would be the only thing that would ever separate us. And now here we are… apart. _

_I miss you Kris. I miss you like the sun misses the flower in the depths of winter. More than Romeo missed Juliet after being banished from Verona. More than Hermia missed Lysander after waking to find him gone. More, oh so much more than any Shakespearian character could ever miss their lover. You – oh worshipper of Shakespeare - of all people should understand just how much that means._

_So, as ended in the film, I too will end this letter: with hope. Love should end with hope. I live in hope, dear Krista, that yesterday was not the last time I will look upon you. The hope that you will one day find a way to forgive me and love me back. I know I don't deserve it. But I'm lost without you. Please, please, please forgive me. I will wait for you. I belong to you._

_With all the love that I possess._

_Seth.

* * *

_

I wiped my eyes. Lost for words. Here it was. Exactly what I had been waiting for. The little glimmer of hope that all was not lost between us. My saving grace. My miracle.

Without a second thought I shoved the letter into the back pocket of my jeans and raced for the door, pulling on my boots but not bothering with a coat. It was raining, but I didn't care. There was someone I needed to talk to.

In my hurry, I fumbled with the keys to my van, rain casing my hair to stick to my face and neck. I slid into the front seat of Vera, ramming the key into the ignition and twisting. The engine coughed and spluttered and fell silent.

"Shit!" I cursed, twisting the key a second time. A third time. A forth time. "Shit, shit, shit!" Of all the days for my van to give up the ghost. But she wasn't starting. I looked up at the sky, the clouds were thick and grey, almost black and virtually bursting at the seams. I calculated how long it would take me to get to where I wanted to be by foot. I estimated a long time.

But I couldn't wait. I needed to sort this whole mess out and Seth's letter had stirred me into pulling myself together, getting up off my arse and doing something about it! I slid out of the front seat and slammed the door shut, setting off at a sprint in the direction of La Push.

It took me more than an hour to get to Emily's. Soaked through and shivering, with aching legs, I raised an icy hand to knock on the front door, wishing more than anything that I had had the common sense to pick up a coat before I left. Going on an hours run in the middle of December was possibly the craziest thing I had ever thought of.

But people do crazy things when they're in love.

It took Emily a few minutes before she opened the door. The look on her face was nothing less than I expected.

"Holy crow…!" Her mouth hung open, as if she was trying to register what exactly was this wet, bedraggled creature on her doorstep. "Kris?"

"H-h-hey Em-mily." I chattered, teeth knocking together. "C-c-could I c-c-ome i-" I didn't even finish my sentence before Emily whisked me inside and shoved me in front of the fire.

"What on earth were you thinking?!" She chided, instantly bustling and busying herself around the house, boiling kettles, filling hot water bottles and pulling out blankets. I stood dripping on the carpet. "You've probably caught pneamonia, or worse. Honestly Krista those boys may be able to withstand everything but us imprints aren't as…" She stopped short, realising what she had said. My stomach twisted uncomfortably as the one word I was trying to forget was mentioned: imprinting.

"Kris…" Her voice was softer now. She came over and peeled the wet tshirt off of me, quickly wrapping me up in a warm, fluffy towel. "I'd forgotten… sorry." She made a sympathetic face and sat me down on the sofa. I remained silent. "Just sit here and I'll get you a hot drink so we can stop you shivering. Seth's not here you know…"

"I know." I finally managed to squeak out. "I came here to see you actually."

Emily looked surprised, but pleased as she walked back over to me, a cup of hot, milky tea in each hand. I gratefully accepted the mug. It burned my hands but I didn't care. The warmth was like heaven… like Seth…

"So, what's up, hun?" Emily sipped her tea, patiently waiting for me to explain my unexpected appearance. I didn't know where to start.

"Me and Seth broke up." I stated unhelpfully. Emily chuckled.

"Yes sweetheart I know that. Seth's been insufferable ever since."

"Sorry." Somehow my pitiful apology didn't seem nearly enough. Emily said nothing, but smiled kindly. I couldn't bring myself to look her in the eye. Instead I sipped my tea. Silence fell upon the pair of us. I gazed into the fire, finding comfort in the familiar crackle and blaze of the flames.

Eventually I broke the silence with a question I had been burning to ask.

"Do you think I reacted stupidly?" I still couldn't meet Emily's eye. "Do you think this whole mess is my fault?"

Emily was silent for a moment before. "No. I don't think it's your fault. I think you reacted in the most human way, considering Seth explained it so badly."

"It's not his fault either though." I was eager for Seth not to get the blame, I felt like I owed him at least that much. "I don't… I don't think he understands the whole imprinting thing any better than I do."

"Exactly." Emily's torn face broke into a smile, the most genuine I'd seen all afternoon. "And that's what I was hoping you'd realise."

I scrunched up my nose. "What do you mean?"

Emily set down her cup and clasped her hands on her lap before looking me in the face.

"My personal opinion…" she began. "Considering I only know what Seth has told me and what I overheard on the beach. My personal opinion is that you didn't really hear Seth."

Her words stung. I felt like I had been slapped across the face. So this was my entire fault? So I could have saved myself all this pain? All because I didn't listen to Seth? My unanswered questions must have been written in my expression because Emily carried on hastily.

"I don't mean that in a bad way, Sweetheart. I just mean that… Seth explained himself atrociously. For heaven's sake, if Sam had explained imprinting to me that way I would have probably reacted the same way too. However what was perfectly clear to me, and to everyone else who knows the pair of you, was that behind the stupid, clumsy explanations Seth was trying to offer, was genuine adoring love. It couldn't be clearer how much he loves you if he had been wearing a neon sign on his chest saying 'I love Krista Hughes'!"

I managed a watery smile, sipping on my tea. Emily smiled back.

"The thing is, your own insecurities: about yourself and about your relationship with him, they stopped you seeing all that; seeing the obvious that everyone else could see: that Seth is one hundred and one percent head over heels for you. Imprint or no imprint."

I nodded miserably. It made sense. Complete sense. Even now, though I knew what Emily said was all true, a tiny voice was still saying '_don't be stupid Kris. You know you're not meant for all this. He's too good for you. Way too good for you. What would an amazing Quileute sex-God want with a small-town British girl?_' I tried my hardest to repress that voice.

"I just… It was all too good to be true. I thought I was the luckiest girl alive. I knew that someone like him could never _really _want someone like-" Emily cut me off.

"Don't you even think about finishing that sentence Miss Hughes!" She chided, pushing my wet hair from my face. "You are every bit worth that boy. It's him who's lucky to have a girl like you! If you'd known him as long as I have you'd understand." She chuckled, obviously envisioning a past memory.

"But the imprinting…" I sniffed. "It's not like love is it? There's a difference between falling in love and imprinting on someone. He loves me because he has to, because he has no choice."

"Actually, imprinting exactly the same as falling in love." Emily raised an eyebrow, as though stating something entirely obvious. "Has Seth ever used the phrase 'soul mates' to you?"

I wracked my brains. "I don't think so."

Emily rolled her eyes and tutted. "That boy!" She sighed. "Kris. I believe everyone in this world has a soul mate: someone they are destined to be with. A human being can go for years and years before they find their soul mate. They meet other people, can marry other people, they can fall in love and fall out of love, but they can never truly be happy until they find the one they're meant to be with. Some meet when they are young, and some can go their whole lives searching with no success.

"Imprinting is like a homing beacon. It's a gift really. It's like a sixth sense known only by shapeshifters that points them in the direction of their soul mate. It sort of cuts to the chase, allows you to know exactly who you're meant to be with, without the hassle of finding them first. Take Sam for example. He loved Leah and she loved him back. They could have got married and had a life together, but neither of them would have been truly happy. I love Leah with all my heart, but she was not meant for Sam. Him and I were soul mates, but if it weren't for the imprinting, we would have never discovered it, because neither would have got the chance to know each other properly because of Leah and Sam's relationship at the time. Do you see?"

I nodded. I did see. It was as if a fog was being lifted from my vision and everything made more sense. My parents… they weren't soul mates. If they had had the ability to imprint, things might have been a lot easier for them. But then again, I wouldn't have been born.

"The right person is out there for Leah too, her soul mate is out there, she just needs to find him." Emily smiled at me. "Take away the imprinting, and there's just plain fact. Some people are made for each other, and some aren't. Imprinting is just a short cut. In some way's it strengthens the bond of love. Take it away, and the feelings are still there. Take imprinting away and you and Seth would still be meant for each other, but it may have taken longer for you both to realise that."

I set my cup down with a triumphant thud. "Oh Emily." I threw my arms around her. "Thank you." I could have kissed her I really could have. Suddenly everything was clear. It was as if an enormous weight had been lifted and I could breathe again.

I loved him! I was in love with Seth Clearwater and he loved me back.

Imprint shmimprint.

Emily hugged me back. "Hey. Us imprints have to stick together." She ruffled my almost dry hair. "I'm glad you came and found me."

"Me too." I was grinning so hard my cheeks ached. I had to find Seth. Right now, I had to find him.

"Do you know where Seth is?" I asked, almost bouncing up and down in my seat. Emily chuckled.

"As a matter of fact I do. Sam told me he went to the cliffs to get some air about an hour ago. He'll still be there. But I don't think you should go searching for him dressed like that." She laughed again. I looked down at myself. My jeans were still damp and I wasn't wearing a t-shirt. Emily went and got me a jumper of hers.

"Put this coat on too." She handed me a large rain jacket. "I'm afraid it'll be much too big… it's Quil's. He left it here." She helped me to shrug it on and roll up the sleeves so they were wrist length. "There. Do you want to borrow some pants as well?"

"No ta! I could hardly contain my eagerness to get outside and find Seth. I didn't care that the rain didn't seemed to have ceased. If anything, it looked heavier. Emily eyed the dark sky from the window.

"Actually Kris, maybe you should wait a while. It looks like there might be a storm-"

But I was already gone; out the front door and into the torrential rain. It was difficult to see but every part of me was yearning… burning to see Seth. I couldn't get to him fast enough. The cliffs were a good ten-minute walk from here. Frustration bubbled over in me. I had to see him now! To explain everything! I needed to see him smile again!

Suddenly a flash of steel caught my eye. Leaning against the side of the house was Jacob's motorcycle. A wicked thought struck my mind. Riding would get me to Seth in no time at all. And surely Jake wouldn't mind if I borrowed it… I ran over to the machine, pushing it upright.

"Ooof!" I grunted as I heaved it up, struggling at the effort to keep it standing. I'd forgotten how heavy it was. "OK, what first?" I tried to think back to the lessons I'd had with Jacob and Seth, my mind whizzing and whirring with the excitement and frustration.

_Clutch. Ride. Break. Steady. _Jacob's words came back to me as easily as if he'd said them yesterday. With a whoop of success, I kick started the bike. It took three attempts but at last it roared into life. I released the clutch and immediately the bike raced forward. I held on for dear life, trying to keep my eyes open as rain pummelled against my face in icy pins. I twisted the throttle gently, causing my monster to gain speed.

"Whooooooo!" I felt so free, zooming through the trees, relishing in the wind on my face and the thought of getting closer to Seth. The scenery went by in a blur, as I tried to hold the bike as straight as I could. Luckily for me, the path to the cliffs was fairly wide, though puddle ridden. Mud splashed against my sodden jeans.

"Nearly there, now." I muttered to myself, well aware of how crazy I must have looked to any unfortunate soul who might have happened to catch a glimpse of me: a wild woman with tangled windswept hair and a mad expression. No doubt my mascara would have run half way down my face by now too, but I didn't care. All that mattered is that I was getting closer and closer to my wonderful wolf boy. My Seth.

I could smell the salty sea air before I saw the cliffs. The trees around me began to thin and eventually I could see the place where the land dropped, and the sea began. The wind was stronger here, and I struggled to keep the monstrous beast beneath me in control. My eyes, barely open from the force of the wind and rain, searched desperately for any sign of Seth.

There! On the cliff's edge, he stood throwing stones off the edge into the stormy waves below. I called out but my voice was lost in the wind.

"Seth!" Unconsciously my hand tightened on the throttle and the bike picked up speed. I was dimly aware of the implications of this, but I couldn't care. I couldn't care about anything except seeing Seth. My whole body burned with excitement and anticipation. I called again. "Seth!"

Finally he turned round to face me, his beautiful face contorted in confusion. My own face broke out into a smile. Here he was. As wonderful as ever, glorious with his bare chest and wet hair, emitting heat so powerful I could feel it from where I was, a hundred metres away. I stretched my foot down to reach for the break…

…

I suppose I should have seen this coming.

A rock, half concealed in a puddle, was jutting out from the ground. The front tire of Jacob's bike hit it at the same moment I tried to slam down the break. The entire machine shuddered violently, then flew sideways with me attached.

"KRISTA!"

I vaguely saw Seth lunge for me as the bike fell on its side with me half underneath, crushing my leg. It span on its side, sliding treacherously near to the cliffs edge. The sleeve of Quil's jacket caught on some part of its machinery and it pulled me harder. A sharp pain exploded as my head hit the rock that I had initially collided with. I could taste blood.

Suddenly, the world seemed to give way beneath me. I was falling, falling down, dragged by the roaring beast I was somehow welded to. I grasped and grabbed at my failing vision but finally, everything went black.

* * *

**AHH! I warned you! Feel free to get angry at the oh so unexpected cliche of a cliffhanger. Especially since I can't promise you another update until after my exams. But the next chapter will be better, I promise. And it WILL be posted. I promise promise promise to finish this story if it's the last thing I do!**

**Please review :) I love you all.**


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Blood, sweat and tears

**Oh my god. Well, here it is. The awaited chapter. I finished writing this at 2am so there are probably a million spelling and grammar mistakes, please forgive me. I just thought I owed you all an update since it has been forever! **

**This was a difficult chapter to write. I'm sorry to anyone who thinks it is 'soap-opera-esque' It's going somewhere good, I promise. And I'll be quicker on the update too. I really, really hope you like it.**

**This chapter is dedicated to *TheFabulousLMH* for her sheer impatience that motivates me :) :)**

**Disclaimer: Property of S.M.**

* * *

_Seth Clearwater_

It all happened in slow motion.

I felt the vibrations of the motorcycle beneath my feet before I heard its roar. A faint voice caught in the wind, the words muffled to such an extent that it was just noise by the time it reached my ears. I turned to face the disturbance and saw her hurtling towards me, fast. Far too fast.

"SETH!" I heard the whole word this time. It hit me with the same impact as the cold air on my bare chest. It took me a second to register what was happening.

Too late I realised what was _about_ to happen.

The bike shuddered, obstructed by some hidden rock no doubt. It wobbled once, twice, then toppled sideways, crushing her beneath it.

"KRISTA!"

Too late I lunged. Too late the bike spun out of my reach. Too late I realised Krista was still attached the machine. It spun round and round as I scrambled towards it, reaching out with my entire body until…

The world gave way beneath her. The cliff snatched both bike and girl before I could get a hold. I saw the bike disappear over edge, dragging Krista with it, her limp body offering no resistance to the enormous beast.

"KRISTA!"

I lunged after them, not caring about the distance between the sea top and me. All that mattered is that I reached Kris before the icy water did. If I could at least shield her from the bulk of the impact…

I fell… down and down… struggling to keep my eyes open against the air raging past me mixed with rain and salty seawater that stung. Krista was just below me, beautiful eyes closed and face hideously covered in what I could only assume was her own blood. I pinned my arms to my sides, forcing myself to become more streamline. That, combined with my weight, should give me a good chance of falling faster. But however much I weighed, that grotesque bike weighed more and it pulled Krista down at a rate faster than I could even imagine.

It seemed impossible that we were still falling; it was if time had stopped and we were falling forever. My rational mind told me that we had possibly only been falling for mere seconds, but my entire body was working in overdrive and it felt like hours. My hand reached out and grabbed onto Krista's falling arm. I pulled her towards me, manoeuvring my body beneath hers, cradling her from the impact. Both my body and machine beside me hit the water with a sickening _**CRACK**_. I knew, from the intense pain coursing through my body, that most of my bones were broken.

The icy water knocked all air out of my chest. I let go of the body above me and struggled to the surface. Pain and cold threatened to knock me unconscious but once above water, my senses returned. Where was Krista?

I dived below the water once more, keeping my streaming eyes open as wide as I could. There, being dragged slowly beneath me, was Krista's limp and broken body. Her legs were splayed at odd angles, and a watery red mist surrounded her head. I grabbed her wrist, pulling myself down to rip her from the caught jacket. My lungs were burning for air, but I couldn't go up without her. She was the only thing that mattered. She was wrong, all wrong. It wasn't the imprinting that meant I had to keep her alive. I loved her. I loved her so much and if... no WHEN… when we got out of this, I would tell her every day for the rest of her life, just how much I loved her.

Gasping for air, I pulled Krista's body to the surface of the water, Jake's bike left far below in the murky depths. Pain thudded through my entire body with every heartbeat. I struggled to keep Krista in my arms, he head on my shoulder, my legs treading water.

_You can heal. _I told myself. _Krista can't._

I looked wildly around for an escape, but the current was strong and the howling storm had bullied the waves into crashing against us. Everywhere I looked, all I could see was water. Panic washed over me. We were going to die. My beautiful Krista had come to find me and she was going to…

"NO!" I howled aloud. The mere thought sent shivers through my spine. Big shivers. Massive, phasing shivers. In an explosion of heat, it was my powerful wolf legs that kicked beneath me, not my pathetic human ones. A new surge of hope raced through me. With my muzzle I pushed Krista onto my back and began to swim.

_Quil! Sam! Jake! _I thought desperately. An answering howl resounded in my head.

_Seth! Where the HELL are… _I saw the recent events reflected in Jacob's thoughts. _Oh my god… _Jake was completely stunned. _Hang in there Seth! I'll get help!_

_Hurry! _I panted breathlessly, kicking hard against the current. I wasn't sure how long I could keep this up. Was I even heading in the right direction? I had no idea, but I kept on swimming. Nothing mattered now except keeping Krista alive. The shore stretched in front of me in a blurry mess, but at least it was there. In a final struggle I reached it, dragging Krista onto the rain-sodden sand of the beach.

I tried to phase back, but I was panicking too much. Krista wasn't breathing. God, I needed to phase back NOW, so I could do CPR, or mouth-to-mouth or something… anything! In my wolf form I was so useless. I lifted my head and howled.

_Phase back! _Jake's voice resounded in my head. _Phase back and do something!_

_I can't! _I howled, my heart racing and the blood gushing in my ears. _I keep trying but I can't. God Jake, what do I do? What do I do?_

_Stay calm. Sam's on his way. Quil and Embry too. Emily's driving down in the Jeep. Just, stay calm and keep trying to phase. You have to! Krista's life depends on it!_

Hearing it aloud brought reality crashing around me. Krista's life depends on it! She would die unless I did something. That really changed things.

My heart rate slowed and I closed my eyes, concentrating on pulling all the heat inside of me so I could phase back. It worked. In two seconds I was kneeling next to Krista's sodden body, naked.

I slapped her face. "Wake up Krissy! Oh God, wake up!" I shook her shoulders. She still wasn't breathing.

I locked my hands together and began to do compressions on her chest. "One, two, three, four…"

How many was I meant to do? Ten? Fifteen? Twenty? I hit fifteen and couldn't bear it any longer. I stopped and leant down to press my lips to her, pushing all the oxygen I possessed into her lungs.

"Come on, come on!" I started with the compressions again. "One, two, three…"

"SETH!" I heard voices from far away. I called out over the noise of the wind.

"WE'RE OVER HERE!"

Footsteps thudded over the sand and five bodies suddenly surrounded me. I was too intent on my actions to register who they were. I leant down to breath life into Krista's limp body once more.

"Seth," I heard a vague voice but ignored it, starting again on the compressions.

"One, two, three, four…"

"Seth." A hand on my arm. I violently shrugged it off.

"I'm busy!" I snapped. "Seven, eight, nine."

"Seth you have to let Carlisle see her."

"No! I need to do this. She'll die…" I leant down and touched her lips with mine again. Still no sign of life.

"One, two, three, four…" My voice was ragged and desperate, someone put their hand on my shoulder again and again I pushed it off. "NO!"

"Seth, come on man. Let the doc see her."

"Ten, eleven, twelve…" My cheeks were wet, with rain, sea water and tears. Oh God Krista, come on breathe… breathe!

Suddenly arms grabbed at me and pulled me sharply away from her body. I screamed. "NO! NO! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO… I'VE GOT TO… LET ME GO!"

"Dude, Carlisle needs to get a look at her!" Someone, I think it was Quil and Jake, held me back as I struggled against them wildly.

"KRISTA! KRISTA!" I twisted and turned desperately but it was no use, a third pair of cold arms, possibly Emmett, joined the fray and I sunk helplessly to the ground as I was dragged further and further away.

"Best to keep him back." I heard Jake mutter through my sobs. "Carlisle might not have good news."

"No…" I moaned helplessly. "Krista…"

"Broken bones… ribs… cracked skull… possibly spine… we need to get her to hospital." I heard fragments of the conversation between Carlisle and Sam, barely audible over the noise of the storm and the strange strangled sobs that were coming from somewhere.

I realised it was my sobs I could hear.

"Is she breathing… Oh God, it's my fault, it's my fault…" I whimpered, slumped on the sand between the three huge figures. Jake dropped down beside me, wrapping an arm fiercely around me.

"Don't say that Seth. Of course it's not your fault. She's gonna be fine. We just need to get her to hospital, okay?"

"Is she breathing? Just tell me if she's breathing." I moaned.

"She's breathing." I looked up to see the tearstained face of Emily. "She's breathing Seth, but only just…" She looked white as a sheet. "I've never… I've never seen anything like it. She's just so… broken." Emily began to cry and Quil stepped over to comfort her. For Emily to break down like this… well, it had to be bad.

With Jake's loosened grip and Quil busy comforting Emily I took advantage of a new burst of energy within me to wrench myself from Emmett's grip and I charged forward to where Carlisle and Sam were carrying Krista's body to the car.

"NO SETH!" Edward wrenched me back as I lunged to snatch Krissy's body from Carlisle.

"SHE'S MINE! I NEED HER! DON'T TAKE HER FROM ME! KRISTA! KRISTA!" I snarled and spat, punching at Edward, Emmett and Jake with all the force in my broken body as Carlisle and Sam took my baby from me.

"You can't touch her Seth! She's in a bad way. We have to keep her as still as possible or you risk injuring her further! She's in good hands. She's alive, God knows how… but we need to keep her that way." Edward pinned my arms to my sides. Between him, Jacob and Emmett they dragged me to the Cullen's Jeep and shoved me inside.

"Where are we going?" I demanded as Emmett held me in place in the back seat of the car and Edward climbed into the front.

"The hospital." Edward replied, his voice void of emotion.

Jake climbed into the front next to Edward and the car took off with immense speed.

"Where's Krista?" I choked, my entire body spasming with sobs.

"With Carlisle. They're in Sam's car. Taking her to hospital now." Emmett held my arms down tight but there was really no need any more. All fight had gone out of me.

"It's all my fault…" I whispered.

"It's not, Seth." Jacob assured me. "She's gonna be fine. Carlisle can fix anything. I'm sure of it." He sounded anything but sure.

I couldn't get the image out of my mind. Her broken body, her bloodstained face, her shut lids bruised all purple. If she didn't… if she didn't wake up… It didn't bare thinking about.

After what seemed like an hour we arrived at the hospital. Despite Edward's fast driving, Carlisle and Sam had arrived a good ten minutes before we did. As soon as Edward slammed on the breaks I was out of the car and through the main doors of the building.

"Where is she?" I roared at the startled receptionist.

"You, you can't go through…" She stuttered but it was too late. I had already burst through the double doors into the main bulk of the hospital, Jacob, Edward and Emmett in tow.

Sam met us in the hallway.

"She's gone straight into the operating theatre. Carlisle's with her. All we can do is wait."

Wait?

WAIT?

I felt as if I could do anything but wait.

"I have to see her!" I tried to get past but Sam stood firm.

"No Seth. Krista's in a real bad way. She needs fixing. You have to wait."

"I CAN'T WAIT!" I yelled trying to push past. Suddenly Jacob roared something to make me stop dead in my tracks.

"Seth Clearwater I command you to wait." His voice was layered with the reverberating sound of the Alpha. All the fight left me.

I sunk to the floor. Jake knelt next to me. "I'm sorry Seth, but it's for the best."

"Krista…" I moaned. "Krista…"

"Dude, you need to get looked at. Falling off the cliff like that, you must have broken something too…" Emmett tried to help me up, I felt limp, like a doll.

I was steered into a chair where I sat while Edward, being the most responsible of the three, checked me over.

"A few broken bones. But nothing your healing can't fix." He sounded surprised. "I expected worse."

I couldn't even manage a shrug. I felt hollow inside. Krista had to be okay, she just _had_ to! If I had felt bad when she broke up with me, this was worse… a MILLION times worse. At least she had been alive then. At least she hadn't been lying half dead in an operating theatre…

"It's not your fault Seth." Edward had obviously read my thoughts. "Whatever you think this was a freak accident. Nothing to do with you."

"It was my bike." Jacob said miserably. "If I hadn't left it there..."

"It's not your fault either." Edward rounded on him. "It's no one's fault. Just an accident. A freak accident." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

I was just numb. Completely numb. Empty of all feeling. If something happened to her… well, I knew exactly what I would do.

"No Seth…" Edward read my thoughts again. "Never…"

I suddenly glared up at him.

_You fucking hypocrite. _I seethed. _You can't tell me what I can and can't do when you know you would do exactly the same in my situation. In fact, you already tried…_

Edward looked down, suddenly silent. I knew he was thinking about the time in Italy with the Volturi. He had thought Bella had died. It was exactly the same. I knew I had won this argument.

Moments later more people crashed through the doors into the corridor. Bella, Esme, Quil and Embry. I swallowed.

"Where's Renesme?" Edward spoke directly to Bella.

"Safe. At home with Alice."

Alice!

I suddenly stood up. "Why didn't she see this coming?" I demanded of Edward. "Why didn't she see this and warn me!"

"Because she didn't see, Seth." Edward said quietly. She wasn't watching Krista. Besides, she only would have seen in the second Krista decided to take the bike. You could never have been warned in time."

I slumped back into the chair, dejected. Bella rushed over and wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"I'm so sorry Seth. This must be terrible for you." If vampires could cry, I knew she would be crying. I wanted to hug her back but all the energy had been sucked out of me. The hollow feeling was back. I felt helpless and stupid, waiting outside, doing nothing while Krista fought for her life a mere twenty metres away from me.

"She's strong." Edward whispered. "She'll pull through. I'm sure of it."

I hoped to God he was right...

* * *

Three hours.

Three hours we had been sitting in that corridor.

Three hours and nothing.

Bella and Edward were sitting with their backs against the wall, arms wrapped around each other. Esme was on the chair beside me, her arm draped over my shoulders. Jake, Quil and Embry were also sitting on the floor, snoring softly as they slept. Emmett was the only one who stood, between me and the door of the theatre, in case I made a run for her no doubt.

I was completely exhausted, but I couldn't sleep. Every fibre of my being was buzzing with terror. Any minute now, Carlisle was going to come through those doors and say one of two things. There was only a fifty percent chance that I would like what he said.

Suddenly Edward stiffened. I whipped round to face him "what?" I demanded. "What is it?"

He said nothing, but sat staring at the door. I leapt to my feet causing Emmett to tense in his position of defence. "What is it Edward?" I yelled, waking up Jacob, Quil and Embry.

"Carlisle's coming." Edward said calmly. "He has news."

It took every part of Jacob's Alpha command to stop me from hurtling into the operating theatre. If he hadn't had told me to wait I would have. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, Carlisle came through the doors.

He directed his words at me.

"She's alive."

Alive! My knees buckled with relief and I slid to the floor. Jake and Quil rushed over to steady me. I felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted. This was the best news in the world. Alive! Alive! She was alive!

"Carlisle, thank you." I whispered weakly. He didn't smile. I heard an intake of breath and I knew that Edward knew something I didn't. "Carlisle?"

Carlisle winced; as if what he was about to say physically hurt him. "Seth, she's alive but… well…" He locked eyes briefly with Edward before turning his head back to face me. He looked like he was unable to speak. I turned slowly towards Carlisle's adopted son.

"Edward?" I moaned weakly, silently willing him to just tell me. Edward's arm tightened around the shoulders of his wife and he looked me dead in the eye.

"She's in a coma Seth."

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**So! Another cliffhanger. Again, apologies if you think this is lame, but I have a grand plan. And I'll update soon. Please point out any outstanding spelling/grammar/plotline mistakes. I am very tired but I owe you all a chapter for being so amazing and patient. I love all my reviewers.**


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Hospital Beds

**Hello!**

**Again, MASSIVE apologies for the incredibly delayed update. I am just the slowest person at the moment. But I haven't given up. Thank you EVERYONE who is still reading this. I have no excuse except that I'm rubbish. **

**Again, it is 3am and I'm posting this because I think you all deserve an update and shouldn't have to be patient any longer. But consequently, please forgive spelling and grammar mistakes. **

**So here we have chapter 14.**

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_Seth Clearwater_

She looked like a corpse.

Lying there on the hospital bed, all broken and bandaged was the body of Krista Hughes. I gripped the doorframe for support. I could barely look at her. She was so… cold and lifeless. She looked like… like a vampire. No. Although she was definitely beautiful enough to be one, you would never see a vampire looking this… this… broken.

Edward put a hand on my shoulder. "You can go in Seth."

I shook my head. I couldn't. I couldn't go in there and look at her like this. I stared at her closed, purple lids and tears welled up in my eyes.

What the hell had I done to her?

"This isn't your fault Seth." Edward spoke softly. "Nothing could have prevented this. None of this is your fault." He paused. "Go in. Hold her hand. She may be able to hear you."

I swallowed. Right. She wasn't dead. She was just asleep. Yeah… asleep. Fast asleep.

A sleep she may not wake up from.

I edged into the room slowly. Carlisle stood by her feet, looking at her charts. Edward followed me in, closing the door behind us. I was glad he was here, but I didn't want anyone else. Good thing Edward knew that.

"Krista?" I choked out hoarsely. "Krista?"

I moved closer to the bed, reaching out for her frail and fragile hand. It was so cold. I suddenly clutched it tight between both of my hot, burning ones and fell to my knees by her bed.

"Oh my God Krista I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!" I sobbed, burying my head in the mattress by her side. Carlisle and Edward remained silent behind me. Giving me some space no doubt.

"Please wake up Krissy. Please. I promise, I'll never do anything to hurt you again. I don't care if you never want to see me again. Just wake up. Please. Please! Just wake up and be safe. You should move far away from here. You and your mom. Just go, get away from me…" the words ripped at my heart as I said them, but right now I would trade anything, even my own life, for her to wake up and be okay.

Edward stirred behind me, as if remembering something.

"Her mom. Someone should tell her."

Carlisle made as if to leave but I stopped him.

"Wait. Before you go… how bad is it? How… how much is she hurt?" This would hurt to hear, but I _had _to know.

Carlisle hesitated and looked toward Edward who nodded softly.

"Seth…" he began. "Krista's in a really bad way. She's lucky to be alive really. She has a fractures spine, several broken ribs. Both her knees are shattered and one elbow. Her neck, miraculously, is unhurt but we had to fix a fracture in her skull and she's lost a lot of blood. I…" he fell silent for a moment. "I would be incredibly surprised if she woke up from this. She's… she's brain dead Seth. She's alive and breathing, but completely brain dead. Whether she get's through this… only time will tell."

Brain dead? But how?

"It was the impact Seth." Edward said quietly. "When she hit her head on the way down she fractured her skull. The impact when you both hit the water did the most damage though." I remembered the sickening cracking sound as we had collided with the surface of the water. It had felt more like concrete than liquid.

"It's thanks to you that she's alive Seth." Edward reminded me. "If you hadn't managed to get your body under hers, shielding her from the majority of the impact, she'd be dead. You saved her."

I didn't feel like I'd saved her. I felt like I'd failed her. Failed at keeping her happy and safe. Failed from keeping her alive. I turned back to face the mangled body.

"What do I do now?" I murmured hopelessly.

"Nothing Seth." Carlisle put a hand on my shoulder. "Go home and get some rest."

"What?" I yelped. "No way. I'm not leaving her…"

"Seth…"

"NO!" I shoved the vampire away from me. "I'm staying here. I have to be here when she wakes up. I'm not going… I won't…"

"But it could be days, Seth. Weeks. Months." Edward tried to reason with me. "You can't stay here the whole time. She's being looked after. Go home."

"I won't." I pulled a chair from over by the window and moved it to the other side of Krista's bed, seating myself in it and taking Krista's hand once more. "You go home. I'm staying with her."

Carlisle opened his mouth to argue but Edward stopped him with a careful hand on his shoulder. He murmured something too low for me to hear and then the two walked out the door, leaving me alone with my beautiful, broken baby.

The room was deathly quiet, save for the gentle 'beep, beep, beep' of the machine next to Krista's bed. I assumed it was her heart rate they were monitoring, since I knew next to nothing about hospitals, not having to be in one since my dad's death…

It had been my fault dad died. Well, mine and Leah's. If we hadn't have become what we are he never would have had that heart attack and… well. Now it was my fault Krista was dying too. Why did everything I loved have to rot and die? It wasn't fair! I was only eighteen! I was allowed happiness wasn't I? Wasn't Krista allowed that too?

"I can't even say how sorry I am Krissy." I stroked her pale cheek with my trembling fingertips. "If I had never gone to those stupid cliffs. If I had never written you that stupid letter! If I… if I…" I began to cry again. Pathetic I know.

"Seth?" I looked up and saw Leah, staring at Krista's body with wide eyes.

"Leah. Look what I did! I killed her Leah, I killed her!" I began to sob harder. Leah rushed to my side and wrapped her arms around me.

"Shhh. Shh now. It's not your fault. You haven't killed her. She's not dead. She's going to wake up and it'll all be fine. Shhh. I'm here. Don't cry."

Leah hadn't spoken like this to me since dad died. I clutched onto her ferociously and didn't let go. This was all a terrible, terrible nightmare and I just wanted to close my eyes and for it all to go away. Leah sat on the arm of my chair and stroked my head until the tears subsided. I felt like a hysterical five year old, but I didn't care because I knew, in my situation, all the others would act exactly the same: Jacob with Nessie, Quil with Claire, Paul with Rachael…

There was a soft tap at the door and Edward walked in.

"Seth, you might want to leave for a few minutes. Krista's mother's here."

I was torn. Half of me wanted to stay – I wasn't going to leave Krissy – but then again facing her mother was more than I could handle right now. So I nodded and allowed Leah to help me through the door and into the corridor.

I sat, hunched over with my head in my hands. I heard Krista's mother's footsteps as they clip-clopped down the corridor, but I couldn't look up. I couldn't bring myself to face her, coward that I am. Her pace quickened as she approached the door to the ward. I could hear the worry in her breath, smell the fear in her sweat and feel the panic in her walk as it sent tremors through the tiles floor. I knew what was coming next. I shoved my palms over my ears. It didn't help.

"My baby!" Krista's mother's wails could probably be heard all the way from Colorado Springs. I tightened my grip on my ears, digging my nails in, trying to block out the sound of her cries.

Leah pulled me out of my seat with a forceful hand.

"You don't need to be here right now." She said, in a tone that warned me not to argue. Limply, I allowed her to push me towards the exit and out into the car park.

"I can't leave Leah. I can't go too far aw-"

"I know." Leah interrupted me. "But you can't stay in there either. It's killing you Seth."

"It's what I deserve…" I mumbled. Leah slapped me sharply round the face.

"Snap out of it dumbass!" She said, harshly. "You have to get a grip. You can't afford to fall to pieces over this. I know you feel like you're falling apart but you have to keep it together. Krista needs you to be strong now. She needs you to keep a cool head and not loose it, or she'll have nothing and no one to wake up to, and believe me Seth, she _will _wake up."

I looked up at my older sister with bleary eyes. "Will she?" I whispered, willing it to be true with all my heart.

"Yes." Leah spoke with such conviction that I almost believed her. "Yes, she will. Because she knows she'll have to answer to me if she doesn't."

I tried to smile, just a little one, for Leah. But my cheeks didn't have the energy. It was as if they'd forgotten which muscles worked to pull the corners of my mouth up. Instead they just let my face sag; limp and lifeless, like the rest of me.

"You need to talk to her mom." Leah said, softer this time. My eyes widened.

"No. Oh no! Leah, I can't! I can't talk to her. What do I say? How do I… I can't!" Panic gripped me. I felt like I was about to break out into a sweat.

"Yes you can, little brother. For Krista you can. Her mother's going to want to know what happened, and the only person who can tell the story is you." She put her arm around my shoulders. "She has a right to know, Seth."

I nodded miserably. Leah was right. I owed it to Krista to tell her mom what happened. But it wasn't going to be easy. Maybe this was my punishment? If it was, it was only the beginning. After what I had done, I had a lot of atoning to do.

"C'mon." Leah led me back towards the hospital. Krista's mom was already waiting for me in the corridor. I had no clue what I was going to say.

She stood very still, staring into space. I wasn't sure if I should be the first one to speak. I sure as hell didn't want to be. Leah nudged me forward.

"Uhhhh." Was all I managed to get out. Fortunately, it seemed to be enough to break Krista's mom out of her trance. She looked me dead in the eye.

"Seth." She sounded out my name, as if she were getting to grips with my existence. Realisation obviously dawned as I saw her eyes cloud over. "Seth Clearwater."

"Hello Ms Gray." Since the divorce, Krista's mother liked to go by her maiden name. Obviously now wasn't the time to be calling her 'mom'.

I half expected her to shout, to scream, to curse me, and blame me for her baby's condition. But instead she just seemed to wilt in front of me. She looked tired, worn down by stress and worry. The sheer hopelessness in her eyes was worse than shouting. It made me feel sick to the very core.

"Could anything have been done?" She said finally, "To stop it? Could Kiki have avoided…?" She trailed off. I remained silent. Leah spoke for me.

"No, Ms Gray. It was an accident. Nothing anybody did could have stopped the bike. Seth is the reason Krista is still alive."

_No I'm not, _I wanted to say. But instead I just stayed dumb, a perfect mute. Krista's mom nodded weakly.

"Thank you Seth."

I felt sick. Sick to the core. I shouldn't be standing here, accepting thanks and gratitude while Krista lay so broken and lifeless. It was my fault. It was my entire fault. I opened my mouth to say so but Ms Gray had already been taken aside by Carlisle. No doubt informing her on Krista's health.

"Can I go back now?" I whispered to Leah. She nodded so I immediately made my way to Krista's ward. She lay exactly as I'd left her: bruised and still.

"Krissy." I breathed, seating myself once more by her bedside, tears welling up in my eyes again. The words had run out. I rested my head on the side of the bed, avoiding the tubes running from her arms, and gently moved my hand to hold hers. And that was how I sat for a long, long time.

***

"You really do love her don't you." The voice of Krista's mother awoke me from my doze. I wondered how long I'd been sleeping. The crick in my neck told me a long time. I sat up, turning to face my addressor.

"Yes." I said simply. "I do."

Ms Gray stood in the doorway of the ward, not quite in the room but certainly not outside of it.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish she had never met you." Confessed the woman, staring at her feet. "Because I can't help feeling, that if she hadn't, none of this would have happened."

I stayed silent, mainly because I agreed.

"But I'm just a silly mother looking for someone to blame." Ms Gray kept her composure, but I saw a stray tear leak from her eye. "I know it's not your fault. It's all fate anyway."

Fate. There was a word I hadn't heard in a while. In my books, fate and imprinting kinda went hand in hand. Ms Gray obviously agreed, although not completely as the whole imprinting thing was completely unbeknownst to her of course.

"I'm glad she has you." Krista's mom looked up and I could see how hard she was trying to smile. "You're a good boy Seth and, well… I can't stay…" She put a hand over her mouth as her eyes flickered to Krista's body, then back to me. "I can't look at her like this. She's just my little girl… she shouldn't…" She broke off in a sharp sob. I looked at the ground uncomfortably, unsure whether to comfort her or not.

"Seth, you'll look after her won't you? When she wakes up?"

So here was another firm believer of Krista's awakening. That was nice. We needed more of those around here. At the moment, I think her and Leah are the only ones.

"I'll always be here for her Ms Gray." I promised. "Always."

Krista's mom nodded slowly. "Thank you." She turned to leave, but before she did she stopped, looking over her shoulder at me. "She thinks the world of you Seth Clearwater, and until now I couldn't see why."

I turned back to Krista as I heard her mother's steps fade down the corridor. Her face was so pale and scratched and completely still, but beneath her bruised lids I swear I could see movement. The faintest glimmer of movement, that was probably her blood being pumped through her veins, but nonetheless, it was the first sign of life I had seen from her all day.

Now I understood.

Now I saw what Ms Gray and Leah did.

Krista was going to pull through, and I would wait for her. As long as it took, I would wait and I wouldn't leave her side.

Now I was a believer too.

* * *

**So, a super short chapter, but I hope it was worth the wait. It's a bit of filler, but the updates should me (fingers crossed) more regular now. (I've started my gap-year! woop!)**

**Thank you again to EVERYONE for reviewing and loving this story. Please tell me if there's anything wrong (yes, I realise I left Seth naked for an entire chapter! Sorry!)**

**Rose x**


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